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We made Redcliff fast, but the arch demon moved back to Denerim. I wish I could fly, how that would have saved my poor feet from all the walking.

Tonight we rest, the men and woman of Redcliff are out in droves, celebrating their last night before the final battle. You should see the village cousin, lights in every window, music in every corner. Past grievances are pushed aside, amends made. People afraid these moments are their last and just wanting to be happy.
Rhioden took Alistair and I aside. He was solemn as he spoke about how the arch demon was killed. Alistair was shocked, but some how I knew.
My sacrifice will be a grand one cousin. To save Ferelden to kill the arch demon. Rhioden says he will be the one, that as the longest standing grey warden it is his to take.

But what is one man before the hoard. What is one girl?
That's all I am, all I have been one girl. No, one woman, but I have changed what stood before me. Me! Naught but a healer, a giddy child full of dreams of knights and lady's.
romance and duty.

Morrigan came to me, sat me on the bed in my room and took my hand in hers. Morrigan is a somber creature and I am use to her Melancholy but this was more than I could bare.
She offered me away that every one could live, she thought perhaps that is why Flemeth sent her. This "Dark Ritual" would spawn a child with the taint, a child that could absorb the soul of the arch demon.
I would have bawked at the idea had I not been so stunned, for she required bedding Alistar to begin this ritual.

When I regained my composure I told her "no, there is no way that on my watch I will let her go into the wilds with an old god in her womb, nor would I try and talk two people who loath each other into love making."
She grew angry as i knew she would. Seeing no point in my piousness.
"You ask him his choice." She practically yelled "bed me, or watch the woman he loves die."
I was practically floored "you don't know it will be me landing the final blow."
She looked at me so sternly tearing my lie to shreds.
"Death has been on your mind since we lost you on the battle field." She sighed "if your friends can not dissuade you from this madness think of your lover. Think of Zevran."
My heart faltered.
"You took a broken man and taught him to love, to what? Break his heart all over again?"
It was all I had been thinking about. "You think those thoughts haven't plagued my mind since he came back. You are cruel Morrigan."
She paused and in a low voice said "you are cruel, going off to die and not letting your friends help." She stood "I will not watch you die." Pausing at the door,I thought she changed her mind, but she hazarded one long glance back to me. Before slipping from the room.
What horrible choice have I made cousin?

He loitered by the door. Morrigan had beat him there, suspecting the witches conference to be quicker than his, he did not interrupt.

As he lingered he heard words that he didn't wish to hear.
"Oh Morrigan" he heard Dae's soft voice protest her offer "no you can't." Their voices dropped to a soft hush again, he strained to hear but caught nothing but murmurs, until Morrigan's voice rose again "If your friends can not dissuade you from this madness think of your lover. Think of Zevran."
Rhioden had solemnly taken the two grey wardens aside to talk death and killing the Arch demon. Zev had only caught small portions of that conversation as well, He paled to think Dae would sacrifice herself. He pulled away from the door, wandering through the hall to his own room, sitting and waiting for her to finish, attempting to get his emotions under check. If rhioden failed and the task fell to the two youngest wardens would Dae really value Alistair's life more than her own, would she sacrifice their love for the doofus king?
Of course she would. The right thing to do would be the only thing to do. Unless he could get her to promise other wise. Perhaps he could use her honour against her fool hearty courage.

Crackling warmly in the hearth the fire sung happily, spilling its warmth out into the room. He paced back and forward, his heart in his throat. Of course she would take her time before bed, there were battle plans to make and goodbyes to be said.

She had never asked him to love her only to show her the way in a world she didn't know. Yet he found with every passing day he was giving more of himself to her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and wrung his hands. His mind mulling over all the trials to come, their moon light swim many months ago taking his worries and washing them away, the thought of the water pulling the curls out of her jet hair plastering them to her milky white skin, as she smiled naked from the water, dark liquid lapping at her gorgeous curves, beckoning him to join her.
She had never swum naked in a lake, She had never kissed a man, they had done both and more that night.
She opened the door her face brightening the moment she saw him. He stood accepting her as she ran to his arms. She smelled sweet, like honeydew on a spring morning. He drank her in his face buried in her soft curls, not speaking pretending like the world around them wasn't crashing down.

"Your sad." Her voice soft, insolent in light of the events.
"I suppose I should be laughing." He snapped pulling say from her, "Why would I be unhappy?"
"That's not what I meant." She protested.
"You're not going take Morrigan's offer are you." He looked at her, gold eyes into blue, trying to plead with her. "Alistair is your friend, Morrigan is a Beautiful woman. If he can't get his leg over to save your life what kind of man is he?"
"Zevran!" She exclaimed her dark brows furrowing. "You know I would never ask Alistair to do anything he isn't comfortable with." She crossed her arms. "And I can not let Morrigan go off with demon spawn to raise. What happens if because of it the Arch Demon rises again."
"By then we will be old and decrepit, it won't be our fight any longer."
"So it would be our children's problem?" She asked, the disgust in passing the torch to the next generation clear in her tone.
"Yes!" He threw up his hands. "At least we would have time to have children."
She caught his arms before he could turn away from her. Taking his hands she placed them on her waist linking her own hands behind his neck. He couldn't look at her, he stared at a knot in the hard wood floor avoiding her gaze.
"Then we run." He said Looking up finally into her eyes that were as deep blue as the night sky. She smiled and shook her head.
"I thought you said you wanted to live."
She brushed a stray hair off his face and kissed the corner of his mouth. "And because of you, I have." She tugged him playfully as she backed towards the door. "So lets live. I know its no Antiva but there is Wine and dance and I can guarantee at least one woman who will let you climb between her sheets when the dancing is done."
He laughed following her to the hall, she skipped a head, a glee he had not seen in her for so long. He thought it ironic that the day before they leave for the hardest battle in their life and finally she returns to the giddy fun loving girl he met so many moons ago.

The party cousin, like I had not seen. We danced and drank, I do believe I lost my head in the inn. A young lad one of the Radcliffe soldiers Gave me this story that it was his last night on earth. That he would likely die on the morrow and so shouldn't let him die with out knowing the touch of a beautiful woman. He did not recognise me as the Warden. I was going to correct him when I saw Zevran's blade snaking up his leg.
I declined saying there was only one man I wished to spend my last night with, Zevran the joker, offered a compromise and the chance to join in our fun. To which the young man made his self scarce while we laughed. The moon was full, and high, and so were my spirits, I couldn't have had a better night.
Lingering under the pale moon light, the two lovers stood on the boardwalk over looking the water.

Moonlight kissed the water sending sliver ripples long the tide to crash with the red ones cause by the torches.
Zevran took Dae's hand and turned to face her. She smiled, her face free of the worries that had plagued her the last few nights.

"You know all this started because of a lake at night." She whispered.

Zevran smirked remembering fondly. "Do you think you are any more prepared to defeat the arch demon now you have kissed a man."

"Only if his match of choosing is tongue wrestling." She laughed.

He smiled "you think you're that good?"

"I have had no complaints." She mused, he watched the smile play at the corner of her mouth, she was toying with him. He loved when she was wry, he loved when she was innocent. He loved her. He swallowed before reaching Into a pocket and pulling out a trinket.

"Here." He began pressing it into her closed hands. "it seem to be an appropriate time to give you this."

Slowly she opened her fingers to look at her gift.

"I acquired it on my very first job with the the crows, a ravani merchant prince, and he was wearing a single jewelled earring when killed him. In fact that was about all he was wearing." He chuckled a little to himself.

"I thought it was beautiful, so I took it to mark the occasion. I have kept it since... And I'd like you to have it."

She tried to find the words, but stumbled at every syllable. "Oh Zev." She uttered softly.

"Don't get the wrong idea about it. You killed Teliesan. As far as the crows are concerned I died with him. That means I'm free, at least for now. Feel free to sell it, or wear it ...or what ever you'd like. It's really the least I could give you in return." He tried to shake of any sentiment he may have incurred in his gift. A habit hard to break.

"It's meant a lot to me but so have... So has what you've done, thank you I have no better way of saying it."

Dae beamed, she saw through his nonchalance. "Every minute was my pleasure."

"Make a promise for me." He whispered "if Rhiorden falls..."

Dae shook her head, knowing what Zevran's was trying to do. "He won't."

He silenced her protests with a finger to her lips. "I came to Ferelden to die, and you convinced me how foolish that was. If you ..."

"Zev I promise you." Her face so serious for the moment, as she grasped his hands. "I will never leave you. Not even In death. You know I love you."

He looked down at their interlaced fingers, a smile pulling at the edge of his lips "yes, yes I know that."

Sighing far to heavily for a man in a tavern of merriment, Alistair watched Dae and the Painted Elf bat eyelashes at each other on the boardwalk. "One event, and it could have all gone so different." He uttered trying to not to be cruel about it, it was Dae's choice and he wanted her happy. She playfully made a push at the assassin who's quick reflexes only managed to pull her laughing into the water below. He sighed again.

"So her type isn't tall handsome and royal. But I sure is mine!" A plucky young women slid in beside him.

He frowned and blinked caught off guard "sorry?"

She laughed offering her hand "Elissa. I'm one of your commanders for the final push. Why don't you let me buy you a Drink, see what merriment we can make."

~

Lute strings plucked in the late afternoon. The hands that played them had talent, but the song seemed new. It was accompanied by a low silky voice, that sang of a lover with black hair, lips like a rose.

He left his reflecting on past events behind and decided to join in. He was amused to find it was Hawke singing along to the song Fenris was teaching their eldest the instrument.

The shyer twin Boone sat in her mothers lap watching intently as she sang the song, while the ever energetic Willow danced. She saw him coming towards their encampment and danced over to him,

"Surely you know some songs Uncle Zev!" She exclaimed grabbing his hand and tugging him along.

He had a chuckle suddenly being added to their family. "I know some songs but I am afraid none of them are age appropriate"

"Do they have bad words in them? Mama says lots of bad words, she tells papa off for his but she's worse." Willow blurted nodding.

Hawke shaking her head at her daughters antics. "And what do we tell you about those words"

"We don't say them were you can hear them." She stopped looking at her mothers disapproval "We don't say them." she corrected.

Hawke Laughed looking to Fenris who shared a guilty look with Sunshine. "Was that your doing?" She asked him "Teaching my babies rogue-ish behaviour"

Fenris got to his feet approaching his wide eyed daughter "Are you a rogue my sweet?" He asked sweeping her off her feet "look at this face? Does she look like a rogue?" Willow became a fit of giggles in her fathers arms as he tipped her upside down tickling her "a thief and a heart breaker but no foul mouthed rogue."

"Only the good ones are foul mouthed." Zev explained.

Hawke rolled her eyes "Keep your bad language in Antivan and at least they can sound fancy when they repeat it."

He sat next to Hawke, enjoying her dry humour. And making a small attempt to coax the littlest Hawke from her shell.

"Stories!" Willow shouted breaking away from her father "you'd know stories then?"

Zevran sighed "I think I know one that is safe enough for the fire side."

Hawke raised an eyebrow, "this should be interesting." She mused.

"It is a story about love," he told them boping willow on the nose as she scrunched it up at the mention of the word love. "And adventure. But it is about the Sun and the Moon." To that Boone's head popped up, peridot green eyes big as bowls fixed their attention on him from beneath her red curls. Sunshine set her lute aside and they all made them selves comfortable for the story.

"Once a very long time ago there lived a man.
He was bright and warm, and smiled where ever he went.
Despite all this he was not a happy man, but he knew If he didn't sunny people with smiles and good humour, they would be sad, and listless and their days of toil would be long and troublesome.
One day, later into his life, completely by surprise he fell into the path of a beautiful young woman. This young woman was the night to his day, the moon to his sun, her hair was dark as ink, her eyes as deep as the night sky, and her skin so flawlessly fair, marble grew jealous in her presence.
The young woman offered the man a hand to help him stand, a smile where normally there was none, and the place in his chest where a heart once beat, began to ache in her presence.
She was new, young and excited, and he enjoyed watching her love each experience he had come to take advantage of. Happy or sad, pleasure or pain, she didn't fear the evil would taint the good, only knew that to appreciate one she must know the other intimately.
He shared with her the knowledge of each land he visited as he traveled the world,
she shared with him her heart, such a big heart capable of being shared between two, full of courage, and hope, but it was a good heart, an honest and Nobel heart.
The young woman knew that, the world couldn't survive if she and the man stayed together. For while they travelled happily through one land the others went with naught. Nothing to smile upon them in the night, only darkness for bandits and monsters to hunt in.
He held her tight, when she said she must go. Her eyes filled with tears, that sparkled like the stars at night. He begged her, pleaded with her as she slipped from his fingers.
There was darkness for a time as the man didn't smile, his half heart aching for its counter part.
Then slowly he began to think of the days they had, the time they shared and the thoughts tugged at his lips and he shone once more. In the beams of light just as he began to pass one land to another, as red caressed the hill tops, he caught sight of her. Still beautiful, her hair dragging the darkness of the night sky with it. She smiled to him and shone with her own Crisp silver light, stretching out to touch him.

The two hearts wanting to become whole.
Every morning and night, the two lovers see each other, they linger as long as they can Bare.
Then as fate would have it, some times their paths cross.
For a single moment they can hold each other again, she eclipses him and the whole world goes dark. Then they part, one for ever chasing the other, until the heavens fall to earth and nothing is left but gods."

Hawke lay a hand on her friends shoulder, she knew of the lovers whom he spoke of. And in their own way they were the sun and the moon. She remembered him from the early days, running from the crows in Kirkwall, he was reckless as if he wanted the fight, goading them on no matter if he was outnumbered. Hawke wondered what would have happened if she had not seen something in the man that day, opted to fight on his side. Zevran jokes that it was the flirtatious banter and his devilishly good looks that swayed her. Hawke felt different, Fenris and herself were the same creature bound in love and soul. Zev was a different beast, but it was as if they had been friends before, in another life.

"Well that was just sad!" Willow exclaimed "why didn't you give it a happy ending? Papa's story's have happy endings, mama's don't but hers have morals."

Zev sighed "I didn't give it a happy ending because it didn't have a happy ending."

"Yet." The tiny voice peeped out of the little Hawke "it doesn't have a happy ending yet. It will, in time, but it's a long story, and you only know half."

Dear Faith,

If the spirit is to be believed this will be my final letter.

I haven't slept all night, my stomach is in knots but not for my own life. Zev lies asleep, thinking I have promised to live. In all my life I have never lied and now I have lied to the person that I care about the most.

I hope he understands, I have packaged up my journal, hoping that all it contains will help you all understand. In amongst the scribbles and the girlish fancy there are notes and spells useful things and All the wisdoms I have learned this year.

If you can find him cousin, find Zevran after the blight. You will be a good influence I think.

Give Bethany and Carver my love, and have it go with you well. I thank you for all kind words and support through the years. Know I do not go to this daunting task afraid, merely hesitant to go to new adventures before loved ones.

I will watch you from the fade until it is time to complete the task for which I am required.

Good bye cousin, good luck.

All my love

Dae

***

Description

We made Redcliff fast, but the arch demon moved back to Denerim. I wish I could fly, how that would have saved my poor feet from all the walking.

Tonight we rest, the men and woman of Redcliff are out in droves, celebrating their last night before the final battle. You should see the village cousin, lights in every window, music in every corner. Past grievances are pushed aside, amends made. People afraid these moments are their last and just wanting to be happy.
Rhioden took Alistair and I aside. He was solemn as he spoke about how the arch demon was killed. Alistair was shocked, but some how I knew.
My sacrifice will be a grand one cousin. To save Ferelden to kill the arch demon. Rhioden says he will be the one, that as the longest standing grey warden it is his to take.

But what is one man before the hoard. What is one girl?
That's all I am, all I have been one girl. No, one woman, but I have changed what stood before me. Me! Naught but a healer, a giddy child full of dreams of knights and lady's.
romance and duty.

Morrigan came to me, sat me on the bed in my room and took my hand in hers. Morrigan is a somber creature and I am use to her Melancholy but this was more than I could bare.
She offered me away that every one could live, she thought perhaps that is why Flemeth sent her. This "Dark Ritual" would spawn a child with the taint, a child that could absorb the soul of the arch demon.
I would have bawked at the idea had I not been so stunned, for she required bedding Alistar to begin this ritual.

When I regained my composure I told her "no, there is no way that on my watch I will let her go into the wilds with an old god in her womb, nor would I try and talk two people who loath each other into love making."
She grew angry as i knew she would. Seeing no point in my piousness.
"You ask him his choice." She practically yelled "bed me, or watch the woman he loves die."
I was practically floored "you don't know it will be me landing the final blow."
She looked at me so sternly tearing my lie to shreds.
"Death has been on your mind since we lost you on the battle field." She sighed "if your friends can not dissuade you from this madness think of your lover. Think of Zevran."
My heart faltered.
"You took a broken man and taught him to love, to what? Break his heart all over again?"
It was all I had been thinking about. "You think those thoughts haven't plagued my mind since he came back. You are cruel Morrigan."
She paused and in a low voice said "you are cruel, going off to die and not letting your friends help." She stood "I will not watch you die." Pausing at the door,I thought she changed her mind, but she hazarded one long glance back to me. Before slipping from the room.
What horrible choice have I made cousin?

He loitered by the door. Morrigan had beat him there, suspecting the witches conference to be quicker than his, he did not interrupt.

As he lingered he heard words that he didn't wish to hear.
"Oh Morrigan" he heard Dae's soft voice protest her offer "no you can't." Their voices dropped to a soft hush again, he strained to hear but caught nothing but murmurs, until Morrigan's voice rose again "If your friends can not dissuade you from this madness think of your lover. Think of Zevran."
Rhioden had solemnly taken the two grey wardens aside to talk death and killing the Arch demon. Zev had only caught small portions of that conversation as well, He paled to think Dae would sacrifice herself. He pulled away from the door, wandering through the hall to his own room, sitting and waiting for her to finish, attempting to get his emotions under check. If rhioden failed and the task fell to the two youngest wardens would Dae really value Alistair's life more than her own, would she sacrifice their love for the doofus king?
Of course she would. The right thing to do would be the only thing to do. Unless he could get her to promise other wise. Perhaps he could use her honour against her fool hearty courage.

Crackling warmly in the hearth the fire sung happily, spilling its warmth out into the room. He paced back and forward, his heart in his throat. Of course she would take her time before bed, there were battle plans to make and goodbyes to be said.

She had never asked him to love her only to show her the way in a world she didn't know. Yet he found with every passing day he was giving more of himself to her.

He sat on the edge of the bed and wrung his hands. His mind mulling over all the trials to come, their moon light swim many months ago taking his worries and washing them away, the thought of the water pulling the curls out of her jet hair plastering them to her milky white skin, as she smiled naked from the water, dark liquid lapping at her gorgeous curves, beckoning him to join her.
She had never swum naked in a lake, She had never kissed a man, they had done both and more that night.
She opened the door her face brightening the moment she saw him. He stood accepting her as she ran to his arms. She smelled sweet, like honeydew on a spring morning. He drank her in his face buried in her soft curls, not speaking pretending like the world around them wasn't crashing down.

"Your sad." Her voice soft, insolent in light of the events.
"I suppose I should be laughing." He snapped pulling say from her, "Why would I be unhappy?"
"That's not what I meant." She protested.
"You're not going take Morrigan's offer are you." He looked at her, gold eyes into blue, trying to plead with her. "Alistair is your friend, Morrigan is a Beautiful woman. If he can't get his leg over to save your life what kind of man is he?"
"Zevran!" She exclaimed her dark brows furrowing. "You know I would never ask Alistair to do anything he isn't comfortable with." She crossed her arms. "And I can not let Morrigan go off with demon spawn to raise. What happens if because of it the Arch Demon rises again."
"By then we will be old and decrepit, it won't be our fight any longer."
"So it would be our children's problem?" She asked, the disgust in passing the torch to the next generation clear in her tone.
"Yes!" He threw up his hands. "At least we would have time to have children."
She caught his arms before he could turn away from her. Taking his hands she placed them on her waist linking her own hands behind his neck. He couldn't look at her, he stared at a knot in the hard wood floor avoiding her gaze.
"Then we run." He said Looking up finally into her eyes that were as deep blue as the night sky. She smiled and shook her head.
"I thought you said you wanted to live."
She brushed a stray hair off his face and kissed the corner of his mouth. "And because of you, I have." She tugged him playfully as she backed towards the door. "So lets live. I know its no Antiva but there is Wine and dance and I can guarantee at least one woman who will let you climb between her sheets when the dancing is done."
He laughed following her to the hall, she skipped a head, a glee he had not seen in her for so long. He thought it ironic that the day before they leave for the hardest battle in their life and finally she returns to the giddy fun loving girl he met so many moons ago.

The party cousin, like I had not seen. We danced and drank, I do believe I lost my head in the inn. A young lad one of the Radcliffe soldiers Gave me this story that it was his last night on earth. That he would likely die on the morrow and so shouldn't let him die with out knowing the touch of a beautiful woman. He did not recognise me as the Warden. I was going to correct him when I saw Zevran's blade snaking up his leg.
I declined saying there was only one man I wished to spend my last night with, Zevran the joker, offered a compromise and the chance to join in our fun. To which the young man made his self scarce while we laughed. The moon was full, and high, and so were my spirits, I couldn't have had a better night.
Lingering under the pale moon light, the two lovers stood on the boardwalk over looking the water.

Moonlight kissed the water sending sliver ripples long the tide to crash with the red ones cause by the torches.
Zevran took Dae's hand and turned to face her. She smiled, her face free of the worries that had plagued her the last few nights.

"You know all this started because of a lake at night." She whispered.

Zevran smirked remembering fondly. "Do you think you are any more prepared to defeat the arch demon now you have kissed a man."

"Only if his match of choosing is tongue wrestling." She laughed.

He smiled "you think you're that good?"

"I have had no complaints." She mused, he watched the smile play at the corner of her mouth, she was toying with him. He loved when she was wry, he loved when she was innocent. He loved her. He swallowed before reaching Into a pocket and pulling out a trinket.

"Here." He began pressing it into her closed hands. "it seem to be an appropriate time to give you this."

Slowly she opened her fingers to look at her gift.

"I acquired it on my very first job with the the crows, a ravani merchant prince, and he was wearing a single jewelled earring when killed him. In fact that was about all he was wearing." He chuckled a little to himself.

"I thought it was beautiful, so I took it to mark the occasion. I have kept it since... And I'd like you to have it."

She tried to find the words, but stumbled at every syllable. "Oh Zev." She uttered softly.

"Don't get the wrong idea about it. You killed Teliesan. As far as the crows are concerned I died with him. That means I'm free, at least for now. Feel free to sell it, or wear it ...or what ever you'd like. It's really the least I could give you in return." He tried to shake of any sentiment he may have incurred in his gift. A habit hard to break.

"It's meant a lot to me but so have... So has what you've done, thank you I have no better way of saying it."

Dae beamed, she saw through his nonchalance. "Every minute was my pleasure."

"Make a promise for me." He whispered "if Rhiorden falls..."

Dae shook her head, knowing what Zevran's was trying to do. "He won't."

He silenced her protests with a finger to her lips. "I came to Ferelden to die, and you convinced me how foolish that was. If you ..."

"Zev I promise you." Her face so serious for the moment, as she grasped his hands. "I will never leave you. Not even In death. You know I love you."

He looked down at their interlaced fingers, a smile pulling at the edge of his lips "yes, yes I know that."

Sighing far to heavily for a man in a tavern of merriment, Alistair watched Dae and the Painted Elf bat eyelashes at each other on the boardwalk. "One event, and it could have all gone so different." He uttered trying to not to be cruel about it, it was Dae's choice and he wanted her happy. She playfully made a push at the assassin who's quick reflexes only managed to pull her laughing into the water below. He sighed again.

"So her type isn't tall handsome and royal. But I sure is mine!" A plucky young women slid in beside him.

He frowned and blinked caught off guard "sorry?"

She laughed offering her hand "Elissa. I'm one of your commanders for the final push. Why don't you let me buy you a Drink, see what merriment we can make."

~

Lute strings plucked in the late afternoon. The hands that played them had talent, but the song seemed new. It was accompanied by a low silky voice, that sang of a lover with black hair, lips like a rose.

He left his reflecting on past events behind and decided to join in. He was amused to find it was Hawke singing along to the song Fenris was teaching their eldest the instrument.

The shyer twin Boone sat in her mothers lap watching intently as she sang the song, while the ever energetic Willow danced. She saw him coming towards their encampment and danced over to him,

"Surely you know some songs Uncle Zev!" She exclaimed grabbing his hand and tugging him along.

He had a chuckle suddenly being added to their family. "I know some songs but I am afraid none of them are age appropriate"

"Do they have bad words in them? Mama says lots of bad words, she tells papa off for his but she's worse." Willow blurted nodding.

Hawke shaking her head at her daughters antics. "And what do we tell you about those words"

"We don't say them were you can hear them." She stopped looking at her mothers disapproval "We don't say them." she corrected.

Hawke Laughed looking to Fenris who shared a guilty look with Sunshine. "Was that your doing?" She asked him "Teaching my babies rogue-ish behaviour"

Fenris got to his feet approaching his wide eyed daughter "Are you a rogue my sweet?" He asked sweeping her off her feet "look at this face? Does she look like a rogue?" Willow became a fit of giggles in her fathers arms as he tipped her upside down tickling her "a thief and a heart breaker but no foul mouthed rogue."

"Only the good ones are foul mouthed." Zev explained.

Hawke rolled her eyes "Keep your bad language in Antivan and at least they can sound fancy when they repeat it."

He sat next to Hawke, enjoying her dry humour. And making a small attempt to coax the littlest Hawke from her shell.

"Stories!" Willow shouted breaking away from her father "you'd know stories then?"

Zevran sighed "I think I know one that is safe enough for the fire side."

Hawke raised an eyebrow, "this should be interesting." She mused.

"It is a story about love," he told them boping willow on the nose as she scrunched it up at the mention of the word love. "And adventure. But it is about the Sun and the Moon." To that Boone's head popped up, peridot green eyes big as bowls fixed their attention on him from beneath her red curls. Sunshine set her lute aside and they all made them selves comfortable for the story.

"Once a very long time ago there lived a man.
He was bright and warm, and smiled where ever he went.
Despite all this he was not a happy man, but he knew If he didn't sunny people with smiles and good humour, they would be sad, and listless and their days of toil would be long and troublesome.
One day, later into his life, completely by surprise he fell into the path of a beautiful young woman. This young woman was the night to his day, the moon to his sun, her hair was dark as ink, her eyes as deep as the night sky, and her skin so flawlessly fair, marble grew jealous in her presence.
The young woman offered the man a hand to help him stand, a smile where normally there was none, and the place in his chest where a heart once beat, began to ache in her presence.
She was new, young and excited, and he enjoyed watching her love each experience he had come to take advantage of. Happy or sad, pleasure or pain, she didn't fear the evil would taint the good, only knew that to appreciate one she must know the other intimately.
He shared with her the knowledge of each land he visited as he traveled the world,
she shared with him her heart, such a big heart capable of being shared between two, full of courage, and hope, but it was a good heart, an honest and Nobel heart.
The young woman knew that, the world couldn't survive if she and the man stayed together. For while they travelled happily through one land the others went with naught. Nothing to smile upon them in the night, only darkness for bandits and monsters to hunt in.
He held her tight, when she said she must go. Her eyes filled with tears, that sparkled like the stars at night. He begged her, pleaded with her as she slipped from his fingers.
There was darkness for a time as the man didn't smile, his half heart aching for its counter part.
Then slowly he began to think of the days they had, the time they shared and the thoughts tugged at his lips and he shone once more. In the beams of light just as he began to pass one land to another, as red caressed the hill tops, he caught sight of her. Still beautiful, her hair dragging the darkness of the night sky with it. She smiled to him and shone with her own Crisp silver light, stretching out to touch him.

The two hearts wanting to become whole.
Every morning and night, the two lovers see each other, they linger as long as they can Bare.
Then as fate would have it, some times their paths cross.
For a single moment they can hold each other again, she eclipses him and the whole world goes dark. Then they part, one for ever chasing the other, until the heavens fall to earth and nothing is left but gods."

Hawke lay a hand on her friends shoulder, she knew of the lovers whom he spoke of. And in their own way they were the sun and the moon. She remembered him from the early days, running from the crows in Kirkwall, he was reckless as if he wanted the fight, goading them on no matter if he was outnumbered. Hawke wondered what would have happened if she had not seen something in the man that day, opted to fight on his side. Zevran jokes that it was the flirtatious banter and his devilishly good looks that swayed her. Hawke felt different, Fenris and herself were the same creature bound in love and soul. Zev was a different beast, but it was as if they had been friends before, in another life.

"Well that was just sad!" Willow exclaimed "why didn't you give it a happy ending? Papa's story's have happy endings, mama's don't but hers have morals."

Zev sighed "I didn't give it a happy ending because it didn't have a happy ending."

"Yet." The tiny voice peeped out of the little Hawke "it doesn't have a happy ending yet. It will, in time, but it's a long story, and you only know half."

Dear Faith,

If the spirit is to be believed this will be my final letter.

I haven't slept all night, my stomach is in knots but not for my own life. Zev lies asleep, thinking I have promised to live. In all my life I have never lied and now I have lied to the person that I care about the most.

I hope he understands, I have packaged up my journal, hoping that all it contains will help you all understand. In amongst the scribbles and the girlish fancy there are notes and spells useful things and All the wisdoms I have learned this year.

If you can find him cousin, find Zevran after the blight. You will be a good influence I think.

Give Bethany and Carver my love, and have it go with you well. I thank you for all kind words and support through the years. Know I do not go to this daunting task afraid, merely hesitant to go to new adventures before loved ones.

I will watch you from the fade until it is time to complete the task for which I am required.

Good bye cousin, good luck.

All my love

Dae

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