Cullen shifted his arm as he raised the torch higher, shining a light on his path as he headed down the winding stairs to the dungeons. He had made sure that Alex was guarded by Dorian and Bull in her room, as Cassandra and Blackwall took Solona to the dungeons, not to hold her prisoner, but rather to give her time to cool off in her anger. He had to admit, the woman's anger was justified, as Alex had left her husband in the Fade. But she seemed to be unaware that Alex grieved his loss as much as she did.

His soldiers saluted at him as he entered the dungeons, heading towards the farthest cells, where he saw Solona sitting down, facing the wall with her back turned towards him. He hung his torch on a peg by the wall, before pulling a chair by gates of the cell, "Solona." He called out to her.

"Cullen." She said simply, remaining still.

"Our people have calmed down, and Alex demanded that I let you out of your cell." He said, looking at her back intently. "But I can't do that unless I am absolutely certain that you won't pose a threat against the Inqui… against Alexandra."

"So it's true then." Solona said, her voice flat, "You are in a relationship with my sister."

"We are." He replied back, "And even though I know you are her family, I cannot, in good conscience, trust you with her life after your actions a moment ago."

"Are you going to kill me then? Am I an abomination to be beheaded?"

"No, you're not." He said, "Alex has requested your pardon. But as the Commander of the Inquisition, I have a say to that decision."

Solona silenced for a moment, before saying, "Then behead me if you have to. She left my husband in the Fade. A life demands a life in return."

"Is that what Alistair would've have wanted for you to do, Solona?" He asked her, and he saw her inhale, "Is that what your husband wished? That you avenged his death against your sister… against your own sibling?"

Solona remained quiet, but he heard her sob a little, and he sighed as he leaned back against his chair and clasped his hands, "Alex mourned for him, too. She didn't want to leave anyone behind. But he urged her to. While they were in the Fade, they were ambushed by a colossal Nightmare demon, and they couldn't leave. She couldn't decide who to leave behind, and it hurt her to think she had to leave a member of her family to die for her sake. If it weren't for her circumstances, I would've bet she herself would've have stayed, but it wasn't the case. Alistair urged her to decide, and that he was willing to make the sacrifice."

She took a deep breath, before exhaling heavily. He heard her sniff, "How did… how were they during my absence? Were they…"

"They adored each other, like brother and sister." Cullen said to her, "Alistair made her laugh so hard that it brought tears to her eyes, and Alex taught him about magic and the Rifts. He'd tell her stories about you and your companions during the Blight. And she always thanked him for saving your life countless times."

Solona silenced again before standing up, and turning to look at her. Her emerald eyes, similar to that of Alex's, were red and puffy, but determined. "I will… speak to her. I ask that you accompany us as well. I don't… quite trust myself to be alone with her, too."

Cullen nodded, standing up from his chair, "For what it's worth… Alex honored your husband, Solona."

She nodded, swallowing deeply as if to stop herself from crying before looking at him and smiling, "You look better, Cullen. I could scarcely believe you were the same templar I met in Kinloch Hold."

Cullen blinked, but soon he chuckled, "It's been years, but yes, it is good to see you too, Solona. I got transferred to Kirkwall after… that night at Uldred's uprising. But I… left the order a few months after what had happened there."

"Leliana told me about that." She admitted, "She said Alex helped you overcome your addiction to lyrium."

"She did." Cullen said, still looking at her, and Solona nodded again as she stood straight and clasped her hands together.

"Right. I'm ready to speak with the Inquisitor, Commander Cullen."

Alex found Solona sitting in the gardens, speaking with Morrigan and Keiran, with Cullen standing at her side. The two mages seemed to be deep in conversation, with the apostate looking slightly happy at the sight of her dear friend. Even Solona seemed to be smiling as she looked at Kieran, touching the boy's hair and pinching his cheeks a little, but the boy was patient, smiling at her.

At her entrance, Morrigan looked up at her and nodded, and she heard her tell Solona that she was there and that she will leave them alone. Solona nodded and turned to her, patting a place on the bench where she was sitting on as the mother and son left them.

Alex made her way to the bench and sat down, fidgeting uncomfortably. Solona seemed to be aware of her discomfort, and she reached out and patted her hand. "Don't worry, sister. I won't hurt you… not while Cullen is here."

"And if he leaves?" She asked him tentatively, and Solona shook her head, "He won't. I asked for his presence during this exchange. And if anything about Cullen has not changed at all, it's his obsession to keep his blades sharp enough to behead me if I harmed you."

Alex looked up at Cullen, seeing the man blush, and she chuckled a little, "I see. So he has been that obsessed about his weapons since he was in the Circle? That explains a lot."

"He may have left the Order, but the Order never left him." Solona said, looking up at the man, "Although, I believe he has you to thank for removing his lyrium addiction. I've studied the effects of lyrium on templars that have left the Order. The fact that he was not driven mad during the whole time his body flushed out the lyrium's effect shows his focus… and his determination to protect you."

Alex and Cullen looked at each other before they both blushed. "I… thank you. But I think the credit for that is all Cullen's."

Solona shook her head, "A man who wishes to change anything is more determined if he had someone to support him. He could not have done the feat alone. His determination is admirable, true, but it is your support that drove him all the while." She silenced for a bit before sighing, "Alistair did the same. A long time ago."

Alex and Solona remained silent for a while, and Cullen moved a little away to give the sisters some privacy. He kept an eye on Solona, but he made sure that he was a bit away out of earshot. Alex sighed in deeply, "Solona… I'm really sorry for Alistair…"

Solona raised her hand at her as if to tell her to stop, and she did, biting her lip a little. "Alistair… used to be a bit of a coward." She admitted as she crossed her legs and looked around the garden, "He… always wanted to be with Duncan. Not because he wanted to look after him, but to make sure that the man would still protect him. He even decided to let me lead our group in gathering allies for the Blight. If he had the courage, he would have led us all himself. Instead he gave the task to an apprentice mage, barely out of her Harrowing, plucked from the Circle because of one wrong decision of supporting her friend." She shook her head and smiled ruefully, "I guess that's the reason why we got together. We're both cowards."

Alex blinked in surprise at her sister, "That's not true. You killed the Archdemon and drove the darkspawn back into the Deep Roads…"

"Did he tell you… about his son?" Solona asked abruptly, and Alex stopped speaking. "I don't know if you two were that close… but Alistair has a son… and not from me."

Alex bit her lip, looking down at her hands before nodding, "Yes… he… he told me."

Solona nodded, "As I expected. The man could never hide a secret sometimes." She sighed again, "Do you know how a Blight happens?"

"The… darkspawn finds an Old God, slumbering in the Deep Roads." Alex said, remembering what she read from Solas' research, "They corrupt it, and it travels to the surface as an Archdemon, and brings its horde of darkspawn with it, destroying all forms of life it touches with its Taint."

"Urthemiel was the Old God in the Fifth Blight." Solona said, and she looked at Morrigan, who was talking to Kieran some distance away. "And from what I've learned so far, the Tevinters have seven Old Gods… meaning that there are still two more that will occur in the future ages to come. But that is probably still some ages before it'll happen. I killed the Archdemon… but… I did not kill the Old God."

Alex looked in shock at her, "But you…"

"Grey Wardens are the only person known to kill Archdemons." Solona continued as if she didn't hear her, "Our… abilities make us fatal to them. That is why no ordinary person could kill them, no matter how hard they tried. Ever since the First Blight, Wardens are the ones sacrificed to kill them. Our Joining gives us the ability to 'absorb' the soul of the Old God, and when that happens, the paradox of having two souls in one body causes the Warden who delivers the killing blow to die with the Archdemon."

"But you… you lived."

"Yes, I lived." Solona said nodding, and she grit her teeth, "I lived because of my cowardice. Because I was too afraid to lose Alistair."

Alex looked at her sister, "How… how did it happen?"

"Morrigan is a mage… but not just any mage."Solona said, and Alex looked up at Morrigan to see her watching them, "She's the daughter of Flemeth, the Witch of the Wilds. She had knowledge not even any Tevinter or Orlesian mage ever knew. And she had a way to save us… Alistair and me. The night before we were to battle the Archdemon, Morrigan came to me, and she told me of a ritual she could do that would spare us both from death… and that it involved… having a child with Alistair."

Alex looked at her, confused, before slowly she turned her head towards Morrigan, seeing her draw her gaze away from them and look at her son. The realization of the boy's existence dawned in her head, and she turned towards Solona. "Keiran is Alistair's son."

Solona nodded solemnly, "He is."

She looked at her sister, appalled at what had happened to her, "You… why did you agree to it?"

"Because I was a coward." Solona said again, and Alex watched as a tear rolled down her eye, "I was so afraid to lose him. I didn't want him to die. And he didn't want me to die. We had been together for that year, and we were the last surviving Wardens from Ferelden. I couldn't… I couldn't make that sacrifice. All the world thought of me as a hero… a living savior of Thedas. But what they didn't know is that the Hero of Ferelden was just a scared little mage who couldn't let the man she loved die for a world that would never thank him."

Alex and Solona silenced for a bit, watching Morrigan and her son as they talked. She stared hard at the boy, seeing Alistair's features in him. And as the mother and son left to return to their quarters, she finally turned at her older sister again, "Why are you telling me this now?"

Solona inhaled deeply, "I am telling you this because I want you to be wary of Morrigan. She is my friend, true, but that night has always haunted me." She turned to look at Alex, "I don't know what she is scheming, and I want you to be careful of her. She has plans for something greater, but I don't know what it is." She sighed again as she looked at the sky, "And also… I want you to know… For a long time, Alistair had run away from his responsibilities. He let me lead the fight against the Blight. He let Anora rule Ferelden even though he was the son of Maric Theirin. He even let me become the Warden-Commander of the Ferelden Wardens. For a long time he has been hiding the truth… that he is a courageous and inspiring man, worthy of being followed by the Wardens, worthy of being called a 'hero'." She looked down at Alex and smiled at her, "You gave Alistair the end that a valiant man like him deserves."

Alex blinked hard at her, and Solona silenced for a moment, but soon enough her face crumpled into despair as a sob broke out of her, tears rushing down her face, her voice breaking in sadness, "My Alistair is so brave, isn't he?"

Alex reached out and wrapped her arms around her older sister, and Solona's bravery broke as she cried hard in her sister's arms as she clung to her. At the sight of her grieving for Alistair, she felt her own tears run down her face as she kissed her sister's hair as she tightened her arms around her, "Yes, Solona. Yes, he is."

Cullen watched the two sisters as they cried together, mourning the brave man that they both learned to love… one loved him as a man and her husband, while the other loved the man as a brother. He smiled to himself, seeing that although Solona tried to attack Alex a few moments before, it seems that Alex had forgiven her, and that Solona had forgiven Alex for leaving Alistair behind in the Fade. He suddenly felt saddened by the loss of the Warden, as the man was not able to see the two sisters together talking. He sighed as he turned around to head back to his tower, knowing that Solona would no longer hurt Alex, but would rather grieve with her family at her side.