Linn stretched out onto the grass as she stared at the stars above her. They had made quite a bit of progress. If they woke up early tomorrow, then they could make it to the castle before noon. Now she just needed to focus on getting some sleep… which was easier said than done. A rustling made her jump up and look toward the sound. Alistair gave her a sheepish smile, and Linn relaxed as he walked toward her. In his hand, he twirled a flower nervously. He had picked it earlier in the day when they had passed the remains of Lothering.

Linn gave him a curious look and asked, "Did you find a new weapon?"

"Ah, yes," Alistair replied with a laugh. "That's right. Watch as I harsh our enemies with the mighty power of floral arrangement. Feel my thorns, darkspawn! I will overpower you with my rosy scent!"

He gave her a goofy grin as he sat down beside her. Linn rolled her eyes but couldn't stop a smile from her face. Alistair held out the rose to her, and she gently took it from his hand.

"Or… it could just be a rose," Alistair said as he watched her twirl the rose in her hand. "I know that's pretty dull in comparison."

"No… I saw you pick it in Lothering. You saved it from the darkspawn at least."

"I remember thinking, 'How could something so beautiful exist in a place with so much despair and ugliness?' I probably should have left it alone, but I couldn't. The darkspawn's taint would destroy it…"

Linn held it back out to him, but he looked away from her.
"I thought that I might give it to you… At the tower, I said some things… Old templar training, I guess. But you… You never lost hope in those mages. I… I hope you'll accept it as a token of my apology."

Linn looked at the flower with a smile. "Thank you, Alistair. I appreciate it. I really do."

Despite her happiness at his apology, her heart still felt heavy.

"And you shouldn't take what that templar said to heart," Alistair continued as he shifted awkwardly. "He wasn't exactly in his right mind."

"Torture does that to people," Linn said softly as she brought the rose to her face. "I know… I know that what he went through… It changes a person. I just…" Linn trailed off and took a deep breath. "I hope he gets better."

"You really care for him, don't you?"

"I hated being in that tower, Alistair. It was like being in a cage… Cullen was my one bright spot in that place. He was just so kind… I'm mourning the loss of that kindness. Mages and templars… With all that animosity, people lose sight of the humanity of the other side. Templars fear and hate mages, and mages fear and hate templars. As long as that repeats itself, no one wins."

"But you and I… We're okay, right? You don't hate me, right?" Alistair asked and looked at her with those big brown eyes.

"Of course not," Linn reassured him with a gentle smile. "I don't hate Cullen either. I'm just sad and frustrated at what happened… And I want to apologize to you as well."

Alistair gave her a look of confusion.

"At the tower… I also said some things… I remember saying that my only friend was in that tower, but… that isn't true. You know that, right? That you're my friend too."

Alistair looked away but not before Linn had seen his blushing smile.

"Thank you," Alistair replied in a low voice. "As are you."

They sat side by side in silence. Linn finally felt a wave of peace as her darker impulses were set to the side. The stars in the sky stretched out above them. Linn gazed at them thoughtfully as she carefully planned their next steps. She hadn't learned much about the corruption, so clearly she would need to stay in this world just a little longer. At least until Loghain no longer sent assassins after Alistair.

"Loghain has to be put down," Linn said as she felt a small rush of anger. "Redcliffe… The Circle Tower… He may not have been the one to directly cause those incidents, but he was involved. Uldred wouldn't have taken over if Loghain hadn't backed him."

Alistair nodded in response with a fire burning in his eyes. Linn looked back up at the stars and took a deep breath of her own. She felt better now. His own anger had soothed her own. Perhaps it wasn't simply just Cullen that had brought her peace.

"Oh," Alistair spoke up, and Linn looked at him. "I did want to ask about our new assassin."

"Ask what? I don't know any more about him than you do."

"No, I… I wanted to ask what you think about him."

"I think that we can't afford to be picky about our allies… and you should be careful around your food from now on. He was going on about poisonous plants earlier."

"Noted," Alistair said with a quick glance back toward camp. "But… he seems to be interested in you."

"And Leliana. And Wynne. I'm sure he'll even flirt with you. Just give it time," Linn replied with a little smirk at Alistair's look of alarm. "Relax, Alistair. I'm joking. But… he is trying to butter us up. From what Leliana told me, the Antivan Crows aren't a group to take lightly. Zevran just wants to make sure that we don't abandon him."

"I would appreciate that greatly," Zevran said, and Linn watched with amusement as Alistair glared at their would-be assassin. "Alistair, if you feel left out, I could always show you my charms."

"Oh, no!" Alistair quickly said as he got onto his feet. "That's… That's completely unnecessary. We should go back to camp. Busy day tomorrow and all that."

"I'm going to stay up a little while longer," Linn said, and Alistair gave her a concerned look. "I'm not in a hurry to dream of darkspawn… And I need a little more time under the stars. Thank you, Alistair."

Alistair glanced at Zevran as though he wanted to argue. Zevran gave him a smug smile in return. With a small sigh, Alistair shook his head as he walked back to camp, and Zevran quickly took his spot. Linn narrowed her eyes and tilted her head at his intrusion.

"I was just thinking… it has been a long, hard day for you, and–"

"If you try to proposition me one more time today, I will drown you in that pond."

"Proposition you? I would never. That sounds so very… impersonal, no?"

"And flirting with everyone in camp is so very personal?" Linn asked mockingly, and Zevran let out a gasp and clutched his chest.

"You wound me!"

"No, I just have a full measure of you, and you don't want to find out how much I know."

"And that is where you are wrong. Please… I am dying to hear your thoughts."

Linn let out a sigh and gave him her full attention. "Okay… But I warned you. The reason that you're desperately flirting with me specifically is because you believe that the Crows will hesitate to attack me, and you want to make sure that I'm still on your side when they do try to kill you. Aside from that, you seem to use sex as a replacement for intimacy. Likely due to the fact that being part of an assassin's guild doesn't give you many chances to actually have people who care about you."

"Oh, you know me so well! Please… lend me your bosom, so that I may rest my head upon it in comfort."

"And you use humor as a tool to deflect the conversation when it hits too close to home," Linn retorted with irritation. "I meant what I said… I'll protect you for now. You don't need to… 'woo' me into protecting you."

"But what if I like the 'woo'-ing?"

Linn glared at him in response and stood up. After dusting herself off, she turned toward the camp to see him blocking her with an oddly serious look on his face.

"I cannot say that I am not concerned. When you speak… it sounds like you are making plans to disappear," Zevran explained, and Linn failed to hide her surprise. "You are not the only one who can read people, my dear. My question is… does your Alistair know that you are not planning to stay with the Grey Wardens?"

"I'm not– That's none of your concern!" Linn snapped and tried to get around him, but Zevran continued to block her path.

"We can continue this conversation at camp if you would prefer. I am sure that Alistair would have much to say."

Linn grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against a tree. The look of smugness on Zevran's face quickly disappeared as Linn glared at him.

"This isn't a great way to get on my good side," Linn said threateningly. "What do you think this will achieve? What's your game here?"

Zevran quickly regained his smug smile and leaned toward her.

"You… are quite strong for a mage. I cannot say that I do not like it," Zevran said with a confident grin. "I know killers, dear Warden, and you are not one of them."

"There's a lot you don't know about me," Linn replied in a low voice. "And you don't want to find out. Now… I'll pretend like this whole conversation didn't happen, and so will you. Is that clear?"

"As clear as crystal, but I do have one more question."

Linn let go of his collar and asked, "What?"

"Why hide it? The Wardens cannot stop you if you wish to leave. They simply do not have the numbers… Is it because of Alistair?"

"That's none of your business!" Linn snapped again.

Zevran's smug grin made her regret her outburst instantly. He had been looking for the proverbial chink in her armor, and he had found something even she hadn't been aware of until that moment. Linn turned away from him and walked quickly to her tent. Without another word to the group, Linn settled into her bedroll.

A pinch of pain caught her attention. She was still gripping onto the rose and had pricked herself on the thorns. Linn put the rose down on the ground next to her and applied pressure to the small wound. The pain slowly faded, and soon sleep came for her. However, sleep did not take her to the land of dreams.

Looking down at the swarming masses, Linn could feel the surge of power as the darkspawn obeyed her commands. Hundreds marched in complete unison, commanded by one mind. Panic flooded Linn as she watched the darkspawn approaching a town… Lothering. She was able to split herself from whatever mind she was sharing just long enough to try to direct them away, but her commands only alerted the creature. There was a feeling of dread as it tried to probe into her mind in return.

Linn awoke covered in sweat. Her heart beat so furiously that she had to take a moment to gather herself. The archdemon had sensed her. Linn couldn't help but wonder that if she could see through its eyes, then could it see through hers? Linn got up and walked to the campfire. After taking a seat, she rested her head on her knees. It was too early to wake the others, but she doubted that she would get any more sleep.

"Ah," Alistair said as he emerged from his tent. "Darkspawn dreams again?"

Linn gave him a tired nod as he sat down beside her. He watched the crackling embers intensely; something seemed to be weighing heavily on his mind. A part of Linn wanted to ask him what was wrong, but Zevran's words echoed through her mind. It was true that she had a soft spot for Alistair.

What would he think if she told him the truth? That she didn't belong here… that she would be leaving him to save the world alone. Well, not alone… She'd at least make sure that the treaties were honored before she left. That would give him an army at least… She just hoped that it would be enough.

"What…" Alistair trailed off awkwardly, but Linn gave him a curious look. "What were you and the assassin talking about after I left? You seemed… upset."

Guilt clawed at Linn, but she hid it with a smile and replied, "He was… just being his irritating self. I… I just got a little worked up. It's nothing to worry about. I promise."

Alistair nodded but didn't seem completely convinced. Linn fought the anxiety as she wondered if Zevran had told him something… Alistair was guided by principles. Of his Templar training. Of the Grey Wardens. Linn had seen what became of deserters. Jory wasn't even a Grey Warden yet when Duncan had slaughtered him. Would Alistair try to kill her when she left? Not that there was anything he could do from a world away, but still… the thought of him hating her… She didn't like it.

"Should we wake up the others?" Alistair asked as he looked around. "Who knows what kind of mess Redcliffe is in right now? We did leave two apostate mages and a dog in charge of keeping the place safe."

"Hey, now… Rabbit is a very good boy," Linn defended the dog, and she and Alistair shared a quiet laugh. "Well, we should probably start breakfast. Busy day ahead of us and all… Or rather, I will make breakfast. I remember that gray monstrosity you made."

"Hey!" Alistair whispered defensively. "I told you that is the traditional Fereldan style of cooking."

"I refuse to believe that," Linn retorted with a laugh.

Linn checked through their provisions before starting breakfast. They had picked up some fresh food from one of the farms, but they would need to stock up when they reached Redcliffe. A sense of dread flooded through her as she remembered her dream. Lothering had already fallen, and if they didn't get enough people to help, so would Redcliffe then the rest of Fereldan. Linn tried to shake off those depressing thoughts as she brought the ingredients to the campfire that Alistair had brought back to life.

As the food cooked, their companions slowly made their way out of their tents. Zevran watched Linn with great interest as she did her best to ignore him. Wynne seemed unusually quiet. Linn watched her nervously as she remembered that Wynne had seen her use her magic earlier. Using her magic in front of Sten, Leliana, or Alistair wouldn't set off any alarm bells. They wouldn't know magic from another world, and Morrigan… Morrigan had seemingly noticed something was off, but Linn trusted that Morrigan would keep quiet. At least for now.

Wynne, on the other hand, had studied years with the Circle. She may not know what magic Linn was using, but she likely could sense that it was different. Linn would need to be more careful from now on. Luckily, it seemed that Wynne was content to keep her reservations to herself.