A/N: This is another chapter that the characters wrote themselves. Just a bit of fun. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. Once again, a huge thank you to of you who have read and reviewed. I love reading what you have to say.

—

Act One

Chapter Twenty-three

Captain of the Guard

Anders dropped Paden off at Gamlen's apartment in the afternoon. She slogged in through the door, dripping wet, hair plastered to her head, but a contented smile on her face. Everyone looked up at her in surprise.

"What happened to you?" Carver said.

"My dear, Paden, you're soaked," Leandra exclaimed, standing up and coming over to help her daughter peel off the heavy, waterlogged cloak.

"I was out on the coast," she explained. "It only just stopped raining a few minutes ago."

"What in the Maker's name were you doing out on the coast in such weather?" Leandra asked. She took the cloak and searched the room for a place to hang it, finally opting for the back of a chair. It immediately began creating a small puddle on the floor.

"I was with Anders, helping him collect herbs for his clinic."

"Anders? You mean that mage you told me about?"

Paden nodded. "I'll go change out of these wet clothes." She headed to the bedroom.

"A letter came for you while you were gone," Gamlen announced. "I put it on the desk."

"Thank you, Uncle," Paden said with a smile. She closed the bedroom door behind her and stripped off her wet things. She was soaked to the skin; no part of her had remained dry, but she didn't care. The time out on the coast with Anders had made her love the rain, and the smile would not leave her face.

She donned a dry set of clothes and then spent a few minutes carefully combing the tangles out of her hair. A knock sounded at the door and Carver's voice came through.

"Are you decent?"

"Come in, brother dear," she said.

Carver entered the room and climbed the ladder to the bunk to retrieve a book he had left there. When he came back down he leaned against the bedpost and watched her comb her hair for a moment.

"What's gotten into you?" he said.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "What do you mean?"

"You were nice to Gamlen just now. You're never nice to Gamlen."

Paden smiled and shrugged slightly. "Just in a good mood, I guess."

"What brought that on? When you left this morning you were more sour than a crabapple."

Paden shrugged again. "I just had a nice time with Anders. It felt good to do something fun for once."

"Traipsing about the coast in the rain?" Carver said, incredulous.

Paden nodded and flashed him a grin. She tied her wet hair back and then gave her brother a friendly pat on the arm before heading out to the desk and the letter that waited for her.

It was from Aveline.

Hawke,

The Viscount has finally made a decision. They'll be arresting Captain Jevan in his office this afternoon. I'd like you to be there.

Aveline

This afternoon? That was right now! Paden dropped the letter on the desk and turned to grab her cloak, remembered it was soaked and changed her mind. "I need to go out again," she informed her family.

"But you just got home," Leandra complained.

"Aveline needs me right now," Paden explained. "I won't be gone long." And before anyone else could comment, she slipped out the door.

The rain had indeed let up, and now the clouds were breaking and small patches of blue could be seen here and there. Paden walked quickly through the city on her way to the Viscount's Keep, but still she caught herself humming snatches of a tune she couldn't fully recall; it had been so long since she had hummed anything.

This day had been nearly perfect. If only she could freeze this day in time and live it over and over—well, all but the very beginning anyway. As it was, she was reliving her time with Anders over and over in her head already. She was so caught up in it, in fact, that the watchful gazes of the guards in the Keep didn't bother her, because she didn't even notice them this time.

As she neared the barracks she could hear a commotion, and upon rounding the corner she saw two guardsmen restraining a struggling Captain Jevan by the arms.

"This was none of your affair!" he was shouting at Avaline. "I'll see you hanged, quartered! This will not stand!"

Aveline folded her arms across her chest and smiled smugly as they dragged Jevan from the room.

Paden slipped past them and approached her friend. "Not the type to go out with dignity I suppose," she remarked.

Then she noticed there was a man in the room with them. Somewhat handsome with red hair a bit darker than Aveline's. He must have been someone of importance if his expensive clothing was any indication.

"I don't think he ever had any," Aveline replied. She gestured to the man. "Hawke, meet Seneschal Bran." She looked at him. "This is the woman who helped me find out the truth about Jevan."

Bran gave Paden a nod of greeting and she returned the gesture. So this man was the chief advisor to Viscount Dumar. Paden never imagined she'd ever get the chance to meet someone so influential. Not that she sat around dreaming about such things—though she recently thought it might be exciting to one day meet the new King and Queen of Ferelden. But that was different; they were true heroes, and most leaders and noblemen couldn't claim that title if their lives depended on it. Paden quickly began to suspect that Bran was one of the latter.

"So what was Captain Jevan up to anyway?" she asked.

"We found a number of debts to…suspect peoples," Bran said, and shook his head in apparent disgust. "Such poor character." He turned his gaze to Aveline. "But you, Aveline Vallen, have proven your loyalty and ability."

Aveline bowed her head slightly. "The Guard deserves better than him, messere," she said humbly.

"Indeed," Bran said. "The Viscount would have you put your care of the men into direct practice. You will assume the captain's job."

"What?" Aveline exclaimed. She exchanged a shocked look with Paden.

"In due time, of course," Bran added. "There will be training, approvals…months at least. But who better to rebuild respect than the woman who exposed this…embarrassment?"

Aveline looked at Paden again, and this time she wore an almost giddy smile. Paden flashed her friend a grin, very happy for her.

"Resolve any outstanding business, Guardswoman," Bran said. "You will be very busy." He inclined his head to each of them and then left the room.

Aveline and Paden stared at his back until he was out of sight, and then Aveline, looking very stunned, turned to face the captain's big desk. Paden came to stand beside her and stroked her hand across the fine finished wood.

"Nice," she said. "Oh, look at the fancy inkhorn and quill." She plucked the writing instrument from its brass holder and swished it in the air a couple times.

Aveline snatched it from her hand and returned it to its proper place. "Don't touch anything, Hawke."

"Why not? This is all yours now."

"Not yet it isn't. I don't want to get into trouble before the job is even officially mine."

Paden waved it away as a silly worry, then she grinned at her friend. "So, Guard Captain Aveline." She chuckled lightly.

"It sounds so strange," Aveline said. "I'm glad you came, Hawke, especially now." She rubbed her forehead. "I'm still in shock."

Paden frowned slightly. "You do want the position, don't you?" she asked.

"I do, it's just…so sudden, I never thought…"

"You're good at what you do, Aveline. And you'll make a good captain that the men will look up to with respect."

Aveline drew in a deep breathed and sighed it out slowly. Finally she looked at Paden and nodded slightly. "Thank you, Hawke."

"So," Paden said, unable to stop grinning. "I insist we go to the Hanged Man tonight to celebrate."

Aveline scrunched her nose. "That's not exactly my scene."

Paden laughed. "Do you even have a scene, Aveline? Come on, it'll be fun. We can make it a party and invite everyone."

"Everyone? Who's everyone?"

"You know, Carver of course, and you remember Varric and Anders, right?"

"Those are your friends, Hawke; I don't know them."

"Not yet, anyway. You need more friends, Aveline. You need to get out more, have some fun! I should have made you do this a long time ago. You won't regret it, I promise."

Aveline sighed in defeat. "Well, when you put it that way…"

"Good. We'll see you tonight then." She flicked her eyes up and down Aveline's guard uniform.

"What? What's the matter?" Aveline asked.

"You have other clothes besides that armor, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Aveline said, but she didn't sound convincing. She hesitated and glanced at the floor. "My off duty uniform; tunic and trousers."

Paden nodded. "Yes, I've seen it." She sighed. "You really have nothing else?"

Aveline shrugged. "What else do I need? I live here in the barracks, and the only time I ever leave is when I'm on duty."

"Yes…" Paden said slowly. "I'll have to have a talk with you about that sometime, too. But for now I guess your off duty uniform will have be good enough, unless you'd like to borrow something of mine."

"Don't push it, Hawke," Aveline warned. "I'll go to the Hanged Man tonight, but I am not dressing up."

Paden chuckled. "You think I have a closet full of fancy dresses or something?" Aveline sent her a glare and Paden held up her hands in surrender. "All right, all right." She grinned. "See you tonight, Aveline."

—

The Hanged Man was crowded that evening, so they held the party in Varric's private suite. When Aveline arrived last of all, Paden stood up and announced it dramatically.

"And here's the woman of the hour!" she said, holding her hands out toward the new Guard Captain.

The three men who had been sitting at the table stood and offered up soft applause. Aveline blushed and waved them down.

"Oh, stop it," she said, not quite achieving an annoyed expression.

Paden grinned and pulled a chair out for her friend. They all sat back down and Paden set a mug of ale in front of Aveline, then raised her own mug in the air.

"To Aveline," she said. "Friend and Guard Captain. You really deserve this, and the position couldn't have gone to a more suitable candidate. To a bright future."

"Here, here!" Carver said, and then tipped his mug back.

"Thank you, Hawke," Aveline said. "Though I don't know that I deserve all this attention."

"Nonsense," Varric said. "Everyone deserves a moment of glory now and then."

Aveline didn't respond to that, and covered her awkwardness by taking a sip of her ale. Paden could clearly see that her friend was uncomfortable, and scrambled for something to take the attention off her.

"You know, I've had this annoying little tune stuck in my head all afternoon," she said. "I can't for the life of me remember what song it's from."

"How's it go?" Anders asked.

Paden held up a finger and swished it in the air as if she were conducting an orchestra while she hummed the first part of the tune.

"Ravens on the Downs," Aveline and Carver announced in unison.

Anders snapped his fingers and pointed at them. "Yes, that's it," he agreed.

"So you all know this song and I don't?" Paden said. "It doesn't sound familiar at all, yet somehow it's stuck in my head."

"It's an old marching song," Aveline said. "One of the more popular ones too. Maybe you've heard Carver sing it before."

Carver laughed and shook his head. "Me sing? Not on your life."

"You sang the songs with the men when you were in the King's Army, didn't you?" Aveline said.

"Well, sure, but I wasn't the only one singing them then. You'd never catch me singing by myself, though."

Paden snickered and covered her mouth with her hand.

"What?" he demanded.

Paden shook her head. "You're such a liar. I've heard you sing before."

"When?"

"Remember when you were digging that new well back in Lothering? You were down inside the hole and couldn't see me. But I could hear you, singing away while you worked."

Both Varric and Anders snickered and Carver turned beet red as he fixed his eyes on the table top.

"Oh, come on," Paden chided. "I think it's nice to hear a man sing. Nothing embarrassing about it at all, right?" she said, giving pointed glances to the other men at the table.

Anders cleared his throat. "No, of course not. Nothing embarrassing about it at all."

"Certainly not," Varric agreed, though neither of them could wipe the silly grins off their faces at the image of Carver singing his heart out at the bottom of a well.

"Thanks a lot," Carver said with a glare at his sister.

As fun as it was to put Carver on the spot, she did feel a little bad that she had embarrassed him in front of their friends. So she did the only thing she could think of to make him feel better, and that was to put someone else on the spot in his place, especially someone Carver didn't like very much.

"So, Anders, you said you know that song, too?" she asked. "That one…what was it called? Ravens on the Downs?"

He nodded and put his mug to his lips. "I do," he said before taking a sip.

"But you weren't in the army, were you?"

"But I was with the Wardens, and we did an awful amount of marching for not being in the King's Army. We sang a lot of songs too."

"Are you any good at it?" Paden asked.

"What? Marching?"

Paden laughed. "Oh, come on, you know what I'm talking about."

Anders gestured like he was shooing a fly. "I don't really remember how that one goes," he assured. "And I saw what you did there, by the way," he added, pointing to Carver and then to himself.

Paden wrinkled her nose at him.

"So, with all this talk of songs, is anyone actually going to sing?" Varric asked.

"A good question, Varric," Paden said. "I would, if I only knew the song."

"I'm afraid the only ones I could suggest to you would be dwarvish drinking songs," Varric admitted with a sigh.

"I'll probably regret this," Anders said. "But I know quite a few dwarvish drinking songs."

Varric looked at Anders in surprise. "You're kidding me. You, Blondie? How in Andraste's name do you know 'quite a few' dwarvish anything?"

Anders shrugged. "There was this dwarf who was a Warden at Amaranthine. He was always drunk, and often I was too, and so there was bound to be some singing."

Varric chuckled. "Now that's something I would have paid to see. What songs do you know? Maybe I know them."

"Let me see…Five Drunken Miners…The Nug in My Bed…The Lord's Sweet Daughters…"

Varric slapped his hand on the table and pointed his finger at Anders. "The Nug In My Bed, that's a funny one."

Anders and Varric looked at each other for a moment, and then they both started singing a catchy little upbeat song about a dwarf that had issues in his love life because his pet nug refused to leave his bed. It was insanely silly, more than a little crude and somewhat offensive; all in true dwarven style. Paden didn't care so much about the song as she loved listening to the voices that were singing it. Varric had a nice deep baritone that contrasted well with Anders' mid range tenor, and surprisingly they both sang fairly well.

When the song was done the others clapped their approval. Paden whistled and sent Anders a wink. "That was brilliant," she said. "You two sound great together, are you sure you haven't done this before?"

Varric and Anders arched their eyebrows at each other. "First time, I assure you," Varric answered.

"Now you definitely have to sing Ravens on the Downs," Paden said to Anders. "It's driving me insane having it stuck in my head without knowing the lyrics."

"How about it, Carver?" Anders asked. "Care to join me?"

Carver sent a glare to Anders. "Not on your life, mage."

"Come on, Carver, be a sport," Paden begged.

"I'll start," Anders said, obviously feeling a little bolder now that the ice had been broken. "Do join in if you know it," he added to everyone.

He began singing, starting off on a low key. The tune had a cadence suitable for marching, but the lyrics were almost epic in comparison. They told a haunting tale about two brothers that were sent off to war, one leaving behind a pregnant wife. It spent two verses describing the brothers, and another three detailing their prowess in battle. Two more verses talked about the battle itself, and one verse focused on the tragic loss of one of the brothers. The final verse told how the remaining one returned home to his brother's widow to tell her the sad news.

As Anders sang, Aveline's voice quickly joined him, and then Paden hummed along, since she didn't know the words, but she knew the tune well enough. Even Varric began to hum along after a couple verses. And then finally Paden herd Carver's soft, tentative contribution.

The melancholy nature of the song brought a quiet mood to the group, and when it was over they all sat in silence for a few moments, staring at their mugs.

"Damn, we sound pretty good," Varric said.

The rest of them chuckled lightly, and then everyone took sips of their drinks. Immediately Varric and Anders went off on some sort of tangent about the proper rules of various dwarven drinking games, which Carver seemed particularly interested in. After a half hour or so Paden glanced at Aveline, since her friend had been pretty quiet all evening, content to sit and listen, contributing rarely. But there was a soft, contented smile on Aveline's face, and she seemed laid back and relaxed for the first time since Paden had known her. It was probably the first time since joining the guard that Aveline had not felt the need to prove herself or impress anyone.

Paden smiled and took a sip of her ale, calling the night a complete success.