Author's Note: And now we're officially at the tower. Hooray! I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Thanks all for the great (and hilarious) reviews, and for following along!

Chapter 32 - Kinloch Hold

Their party was back on the road early the next morning, Serena determined to get to the Lake Calenhad docks by nightfall. Alistair rode along beside her, the autumn sunshine warming his skin as he remembered how pleasant it had been, waking up with Serena in his arms.

Serena's body had been curled up next to him in the bedroll, one of her slender hands resting lightly on his chest. He had wondered vaguely if perhaps he was still dreaming, that it was some trick of the Fade, but then she had shifted, her eyes fluttering open, and he knew it wasn't a dream. The memory made him sigh happily. He never wanted to be apart from her, if he could help it.

"You look lost in thought, my prince," Serena called to him. "Your smile tells me you are thinking something good, though."

Alistair blushed, caught up in his thoughts of her. "I... I was just... thinking of the Tower. Yes. Have you ever seen it? Kinloch Hold is... quite the sight. Very big. Majestic."

"No, I've only seen drawings of it, in books, you know." Serena pulled her horse up next to his, so she wouldn't have to speak so loud. "There's... a lot of templars there, right? Since it's filled with mages?"

"It probably has the most on-duty templars in all of Ferelden," Alistair replied. "Although it's still only 3-to-1, I believe. Three mages to every templar."

Serena watched him out of the corner of her eye as they rode. "What was it like? For you, I mean. I've sort of wondered... you don't talk about it much."

"Oh, you don't really want to hear about my time as a templar, do you? It's quite boring."

"Then make something up that's more exciting," Serena replied, grinning at him.

"Ha, I like the way you think." Alistair paused, shrugging. "I guess if you're really curious, there's no harm in obliging... I don't talk about it much because... I hated going to the monastery. The initiates from the poor families thought I put on airs, while the noble ones called me a bastard and ignored me. I had no friends, no family to speak of... I felt like Arl Eamon had... cast me off, unwanted."

Alistair glanced over at Serena, his face working to mask the resentment he still felt. "I was... determined to be bitter. But I took some solace in the training itself, I guess. I was... actually quite good at it." He shrugged again, and Serena could see some of the tension go out of him. "I never really felt at home anywhere though, until I joined the Grey Wardens. Duncan felt my templar abilities might be useful for when we encountered darkspawn magic-"

"Or demons."

"Yes, or demons. So, I kept it up." Alistair smiled at her, and she was pleased to see it wasn't tinged with any of the unhappiness from his childhood. "What about you? Do you have anywhere you consider home?"

Serena pursed her lips. "Ah, with my brother... missing, I... Highever is lost to me for now. Maybe forever. I'm a Grey Warden now, anyway." She turned to him, and he could see her blue eyes were intense. "So I suppose my home... well, I suppose it's here... in the Grey Wardens, with you."

"Really?" Alistair found himself pleasantly surprised at her answer. "I... I guess I like the sound of that. We won't always be traveling like this, you know. Once the war is over, once the Blight is... well, a time will come when we'll have to think about having a real home again."

"Are you saying my tent wasn't homey enough for you last night? I think I'm offended!" Serena stuck her nose up in the air and Alistair couldn't help but laugh at how haughty and disaffected she was trying to look. Serena Cousland had to be the most caring and gracious noble he'd ever met.

"While I do miss a proper bed..." Alistair began. "I have to say the company was quite nice." He watched her face melt from its fake arrogance into a genuine smile as she turned to him.

"Yes... the company was quite nice." Serena blushed lightly, her cheeks turning rosy in the sun. "So I wonder... would you humor another question from me?"

"Anything," Alistair answered. He watched as her cheeks reddened even more and he was curious what it was she wanted to ask.

Serena glanced at him; her blue eyes were full of mischief. "If you were raised in the Chantry, have you never...?"

"Never...? Never what? Had a good pair of shoes?" Alistair grinned, enjoying playing with her. If she truly wanted to know, she would have to work for the answer.

"Oh, you know what I mean!" Serena said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I'm not sure I do," Alistair said innocently. "Have I never... seen a basilisk? Ate jellied ham? Have I never... licked a lamppost in winter?"

"Now you're making fun of me!" Serena flipped her head, her braid bouncing off her shoulder as she turned away from him. Alistair couldn't help the grin he had, she was utterly endearing to him when she was flustered.

"Make fun of you, dear lady? Perish the thought!" Alistair leaned closer so their horses were only a foot or so apart. "Well, tell me... have you ever licked a lamppost in winter?"

"I... maybe. Once or twice." Serena ducked her head, her cheeks as red as two ripe apples.

"Just the once? And you didn't lose half your tongue in the process? I'm impressed." Alistair jockeyed his stallion to slow to keep pace with her smaller mare. "I, myself, have never had the pleasure... Not that I haven't thought about it, of course, but... you know."

"Oh?" Serena eyed him carefully, her expression a mixture of curiosity and excitement. Alistair wondered briefly if she knew how gorgeous he thought she was, especially when she smiled. "Have you never had the... opportunity?"

"Well, living in the Chantry is... not exactly a life for rambunctious boys," Alistair replied. "They taught me to be a gentleman, especially in the presence of beautiful women such as yourself... That's not so bad, is it?"

"You think I'm beautiful?"

Alistair laughed. "Of course you are, and you know it! You're ravishing, resourceful, and all those other things you'd probably hurt me for not saying."

"I would never hurt you, Alistair," she said. She smirked. "I mean, not permanently, anyway..."

"No? I bet I could stand some light bruising here and there..." He could feel himself blush lightly at his own brazen words. "It might be nice to get patched up by you sometime."

Serena grinned at him, her normally blue eyes were dark with what he could easily read as something close to desire. Desire for him. He shifted slightly in his saddle as his mind sunk to more baser instincts.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said softly.

They arrived at the docks at nightfall, just as Serena had hoped. She and Alistair had switched out riding the horses with Leliana and Zevran in the afternoon, so they would have some time to relax. Serena had ended up playing a few rounds of Wicked Grace with Alistair and losing every hand but one, while Morrigan sat nearby and read a book on the relationship between willpower and spellcasting.

As they came upon the docks, Bodahn halted the wagon near a small inn called The Spoiled Princess. The dwarf came around to the back and waved to the Grey Wardens and Morrigan has they hopped out. "Well, me and the boy will probably stay here while you all... do what you need to get done. Let me know if their quartermaster needs any enchanting done, though!" Bodahn gave them another little wave and went with Sandal into the inn.

Serena glanced around the docks, unsure what to do. She knew the Circle Tower was in the middle of the lake, on a small island, but she didn't know the bridge out there would be completely in ruins.

"The ferryman's down there, at the docks," Leliana said helpfully, pointing to a figure down the hill. "I'm sure he could get us across to the tower tonight. It's only early evening."

As they headed down the path to the docks, Serena could see Alistair shift beside her as they stepped onto the wooden planks. "That's not a ferryman... it's a templar. I recognize the armor."

"You! You're not looking to get across to the tower, are you? Because I have strict orders not to let anyone pass!" The templar didn't have his helm on, and Serena could see he looked flustered at the amount of people now crowding his dock.

"We're Grey Wardens, young man," Serena said, affecting her most superior tone of voice. "We have business at the tower with the mages."

"Oh, you're a Grey Warden, are you?" the templar sneered. "Prove it."

"Prove it?" Serena turned to Alistair and he shrugged, grinning.

"Yeah! Kill some darkspawn." The sandy haired templar bounced on his feet back and forth, his armored hands making curious gestures at them. "Come on! Let's see some righteous Grey Wardening."

Behind her, Serena could hear Zevran laughing. "This is joke, yes? Surely."

"Grey Wardening isn't something you... do," Serena said carefully. "It's... what you are."

"Blech, semantics." The templar rolled his eyes. "If you aren't going to do nothing, then it was nice chatting with you. Now, on your way. Right now." He made swishing motions with his hands. "Go."

"Oh, come on. Can't we work something out?"

The templar eyed their party, his gaze landing on Morrigan. "That, uh, dark haired temptress over there... surely the tower would be far too dull for her... Because it gets a little lonely out here sometimes... and you know, you could just leave her with me..."

Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing. What was wrong with this man? He honestly thought she would leave Morrigan with him for... what? Sensual companionship? "Oh, you don't want her, she's got a big boyfriend. Huge guy. He'll just rip you apart-"

The templar rolled his eyes. "That's funny, I don't see a boyfriend. Unless you're talking about Blondie here? Or the elf? She with the elf?" He turned to Morrigan. "You with the elf?" Serena could hear Zevran and Leliana openly laughing now and the templar blushed, realizing, correctly, that he was the subject of their sniggering.

"No, no, Serena. Let me take care of this." Morrigan moved forward, stepping right up to the templar. "I have been hoping for some new prey."

The templar backed up a step. "Prey?"

"'Twill take but a moment," Morrigan drawled, putting a hand on the man's breastplate. "Perhaps you should go aboard the vessel to prepare while we are away. We must row ourselves across." She ran her fingers down along the man's chin, and Serena could see her nails left slight red marks. "I fear the lad will no longer have the use of his limbs... or his eyes, once I am done with him."

"Er... maybe I should-" The templar shifted uncomfortably under the witch's gaze.

"Wonderful! I can sense his terror! Oh, that will make the loving all the sweeter."

"So, you said you wanted to get across? Maybe we should go now." He backed away from Morrigan again and nearly fell off the end of the dock. "Right now. NOW."

Serena had to cover her mouth to hold in her laughter at the templar's ridiculousness. She would have to thank Morrigan later for being so perfect. She really hadn't thought it was in the witch to play along. Ever. "Yes, let's get going. Time is ticking away." Serena hopped into the boat after Morrigan, who, she was delighted to see, sat right next to the templar at the front, only hand on his armored knee.

The trip across the lake was cold, but luckily, very quick. The templar rowed at an exceptional speed, aided by magic and perhaps a bit of fear, or so Serena assumed. Alistair sat next to her in the small boat, and she couldn't help but lean into him a bit against the chill, both of them smiling at the frightened look on the templar's face as he kept glancing at Morrigan.

"I never thought I'd see the day where I would be glad she's in our little band of misfits," Alistair whispered into Serena's ear.

"Ha, yes, she was brilliant, wasn't she? I thought that boy was going to wet himself right there on the dock."

"I just hope she doesn't antagonize the other templars in the tower..." Alistair glanced over at Serena and she saw he was serious. "They won't all be so... compliant. The templar order is basically the fighting arm of the Chantry, and many of them take their vows very seriously. Almost obsessively so."

"I'm sure Morrigan knows when to hold her tongue around strangers," Serena replied, watching the dark haired witch gaze across the lake. "As difficult as she can be, she does her best to make things easier for everyone."

Alistair sighed, squeezing her hand briefly. "Well, let's hope so, anyway..."

Inside, the tower was chaos.

Serena had been expecting a bustle of activity, perhaps people rushing to grab dinner, or attend a nightly mass, but what they found was little far from utter mayhem. Templars ran around the main floor, their armor clinking loudly as they passed.

"...And I want two men stationed within sight of the doors at all times. Do not open the doors with my express consent. Is that clear?" A large man in templar armor with a red sash around his waist was barking orders to a small cluster of others. "Now we wait... and pray."

"That's the knight commander," Alistair murmured to her. "I think his name is Greagoir. He'll know what's going on if anyone does, but... did you see the doors? They're barred."

Serena looked where he was discreetly pointing. "Are they keeping people out? Or in?"

"Good question," he replied.

"Ah, hello? Knight-commander... Greagoir?" Serena curtsied politely to the bearded man Alistair had indicated as the one in charge. "May I ask what's going on here?"

"We are dealing with a very delicate situation. You must leave, for your own safety." He had a clipped, brusque tone that reminded Serena of her Nan, strangely enough.

"We're Grey Wardens. We've come to speak with the First Enchanter about the mages obligation to aid us during a Blight," said Serena, hoping her voice sounded confidant enough.

"I am weary of the Grey Wardens' ceaseless need for men to fight the darkspawn, but... it is their right." The man looked their group over, and his eyes appeared infinitely tired, like he hadn't slept in days. "You'll find no allies here, I'm afraid. The templars can spare no men, and the mages are... indisposed. I shall speak plainly: the tower is no longer under our control."

Greagoir pursed his lips, as if he found his next words distasteful. "Abominations and demons stalk the tower's halls. The Circle is lost. The tower has fallen."

"What? I..." Serena paused, her mind trying to catch up with her mouth. "What can we do to help?"

"I have sent word to Denerim, calling for reinforcements and the Right of Annulment," replied the knight commander.

"What... what is that?"

"The Right of Annulment gives templars the authority to neutralize the mage Circle. Completely."

"You mean kill them? All of them?" Serena didn't know if she was hearing correctly. How could they just murder all the mages left in the tower?

"The mages are probably already dead," Alistair said softly. "Any abominations remaining in there must be dealt with no matter what."

"I will not lie to you. This situation is dire." The knight commander paced across the ground, his brows knit in irritation. "There is no alternative- everything in the tower must be destroyed so it can be made safe again."

"Mages are not defenseless, though," Serena replied, speaking to Alistair almost as much as Greagoir. "Surely some of the must still be alive."

"If any are still alive, the Maker Himself has shielded them." The man shook his head, and again Serena saw how tired and haunted he looked. "No one could have survived those monstrous creatures. It is too painful to hope for survivors and find... nothing."

"We will search the tower for survivors then. I refuse to believe that every mage within the Circle willingly laid down their lives!"

"I assure you, madam, an abomination is a force to be reckoned with, and you will face more than one."

"We have faced them before, and we will do so again." Serena stared down the templar, her blue eyes cold. "I will not allow the Circle to be forsaken without proof that it is lost."

"A word of caution, then," Greagoir replied, his own tone icy. "Once you cross that threshold, there is no turning back. The great doors must remain barred. I will open them for no one until I have proof that it is safe."

"What shall I bring you as proof then?"

"I will only believe it is over if the first enchanter stands before me and tells me it is. If Irving has fallen... then the Circle is lost, and must be destroyed."

Serena nodded. "I... all right. Yes, I understand." Serena turned, leading her group to the large doors the knight commander had indicated.

"May Andraste lend you her courage, young lady," Greagoir called as the templars allowed them inside and the metal doors shut with a loud clang behind them.