For those who haven't read, Where I Belong, you may be a little lost as to some of the back story mentioned in this fic, but overall you can read this on its own. This is a complimentary/side story to Allegiance, the sequel to Where I Belong, so if you're coming from either of those two stories, I hope you enjoy this as much as the others.

And here's a big thank you to those who have reviewed, faved, and followed my stories. You guys are awesome!

CHAPTER ONE

It had been over three months since Dianna's sister Olyvia had left to Antiva with her new husband, and Dianna found she was missing her sister quite a bit. They were so close in age, growing up together, they were each other's best friends, as well as each other's biggest rivals. So far, they had only received one letter from her, saying they were in Antiva, bought a house (thanks to the money she ripped off of Aedan), and Alistair had found a job. Dianna's parents were impatiently awaiting another one, hoping to hear how life was going for her.

Without Olyvia there, Dianna had little to ease her boredom. Her youngest sister, Rosemary, was not all that fun to try to hold a conversation with, since she would just start talking to herself after a while, taking over said conversation. Being extremely bored this particular day, she went ahead and spent some time with her sister. The weather was cool, but it was sunny so she and Rosemary were hanging out in the back yard, tossing a medium sized soft leather ball to each other from where they sat on the ground.

"When do you think we'll get another letter from Livy?" Rosemary asked.

"I don't know. It's been a month since we had the last one," Dianna replied, "It takes a while for letters to get here. Who knows, another might be on its way here."

Rosemary sighed, "Oh I sure hope so. I miss her bunches. I wonder how she and Alistair are doing. They just looked…so cute together. A perfect couple. Aw, why can't they live here?"

"You know why," Dianna said, throwing the ball to Rosemary rather hard that she almost went reeling backwards, "It's that Aedan guy's fault."

"Isn't he like…the king now?" Rosemary asked, throwing back the ball as hard as she could, which really wasn't all that hard.

Dianna easily caught the ball, not wavering in the slightest, "Unfortunately, yes. He's also the brother of the new Teyrn here, though Livy did say that the brother was nicer."

"I hope so," Rosemary muttered.

Dianna threw the ball back to Rosemary and sighed heavily, "I'm bored already."

"You want to go down to the beach?" Rosemary asked, setting the ball down.

"Rosemary, it's barely spring," Dianna said.

"I'm not saying go in the water," Rosemary rebutted, "We can just walk along the beach, collect some more seashells or something."

Dianna thought over it for a few seconds, "I guess we could. We have nothing better to do."

"I'll go let Mom know where we're going," Rosemary said, getting up and dusting off her backside.

Dianna got to her feet as well, heading inside to grab a small pouch that she could hang on her belt so that if she and Rosemary did find any shells they wanted to keep, they could just place them in there instead of trying to carry them all the way back.

Rosemary met her older sister outside a few minutes later, wearing a pair of breeches and a tunic instead of the dress she was wearing before so she could more easily climb down to the beach they always went to. No one was ever there, but that was because it was hard to get to from the city. To her, it looked like the only easy way down was somewhere near the castle.

Walking to the outskirts of town, they reached the Cliffside that led down to the beach. Finding the spot they used to climb down, Rosemary started down first, grabbing onto the handholds on the rock and the roots from trees as she made her way down. Dianna followed after, and after spending nearly ten minutes scaling the fifty foot cliff face, they dropped down onto the white sand.

"Beach!" Rosemary exclaimed as she took off along the beach.

Dianna moved at a slower pace, following her sister as she went to the small cave they found in the cliff wall a few trips ago. The two never went too far inside, since they never brought any source of light with them, but it seemed to go quite deep, and Dianna was rather interested to explore it.

Reaching the cave, Dianna found that Rosemary was waiting just a few feet inside for her, too scared to venture too far in by herself.

"I thought you wanted to look for seashells," Dianna said.

"Maybe later," Rosemary said, "Let's see how far we can go in the cave today."

"It won't be that far," Dianna said, following Rosemary further into the cave, "It's not that bright out today, so not much light will be filtering in. And you hate the dark, so you'll chicken out real quick."

Rosemary frowned up at her sister, but she was right, she did hate the dark.

"Come on, let's just go," Rosemary said, moving further in.

Moving further in, they used their hands to help guide them along the slick, wet stone walls, especially when it got too dark, their eyes not yet adjusted to the darkness. Rosemary slowed when they came to the point that they hadn't passed, feeling the walls turn to the left.

"Why are you stopping?" Dianna asked, "I thought you wanted to try to go further."

"It's so…dark," Rosemary said.

"Well, maybe next time we'll try to remember to bring a lantern or something so we can actually try exploring this place," Dianna said, "You have to admit, it's rather intriguing."

"I'm not as interested in that sort of thing as you, but yes, it is rather intriguing," Rosemary said.

"So are you going to keep moving?" Dianna asked.

Rosemary took in a deep breath before taking a few more steps forward around the corner, extending her arms out so she could feel along both walls to find her way. Since she moved slowly, they hadn't gone very far in the next ten minutes or so they spent in there, and Rosemary stopped.

"Shells are sounding good right now," Rosemary said.

"Someone getting scared?" Dianna taunted.

"I can't see, I don't want to go much further anymore," Rosemary replied, "We'll wait until we have a lantern, like you said. Plus, there is no telling what else can be in here that can see better in the dark."

Rosemary did have a point, and Dianna started to feel a little more wary. It probably was a good idea to head back.

"Alright, you make a good point," Dianna said, "Let's go back and see what sort of shells we can find then."

Dianna had just turned around when Rosemary let out an ear piercing shriek, causing her to cringe.

"Ow! What the heck Rosemary?"

"Something touched me!" Rosemary exclaimed.

Dianna rolled her eyes, "It's probably just your imagination."

"No, really, something slimy touched my leg!"

She shrieked again, "There it is again! Move Dianna! Move!"

Rosemary began pushing against her sister, not helping at all, when Dianna felt something cold and wet hit her across her ankle. With a tiny shriek, she jumped, and then took off at a fast walk, wanting to get out of there as fast as she could without hurting herself.

"Keep moving! Keep moving!" Rosemary shouted.

As Dianna rounded the corner, able to see the light coming in from the entrance of the tunnel, Rosemary screamed again, pushing Dianna on the back. Startled again from her sister's hands landing on her back, Dianna let out another scream as she took off at a run, now that she could see in front of her. Reaching the cave entrance, the two went barreling out of there, but Dianna screeched to a halt when she saw a horse right in her path. The two startled the horse from their sudden appearance, and it reared up, and as Dianna went to move away, Rosemary smacked right into her, knocking both of them to the ground. Dianna threw her arms over her head, praying the horse wouldn't hit either of them, opening one eye to see what was happening. The rider pulled the horse back, its hooves landing back on the ground a safe distance away from them. Dianna scrambled back up onto her knees and reached over to offer Rosemary a hand.

"What in the name of the Maker? Who are you and what are you doing here?" the rider, a man, asked, "This beach is only accessible from the castle."

Dianna pushed herself to her feet, and turned to the rider, freezing as she blinked up at him. Her cheeks flushed red, finding him rather handsome, with a kind face, dark eyes, and dark brown hair. Beginning to feel a little uncomfortable under his surprised gaze, she scooted over behind her sister, even though it didn't do much to hide her, since Rosemary was just over a head shorter.

"Um…we sort of…climbed down," Rosemary muttered.

"We didn't know this was…private…" Dianna said, "We will uh…we'll just uh…leave then…"

"You…you climbed down?" the man asked, looking up the cliff face. It was quite the climb.

"Uh…yes?" Dianna replied, "We didn't mean to intrude. I apologize. We'll leave right away, a-and never return. Sorry."

Dianna grabbed Rosemary by the hand and began to drag her away when the man called out to them.

"Wait, what are your names?" he asked.

Dianna's stomach began to churn, "Are…are we in trouble?"

The man shook his head, "No, you're not in trouble, though I advise against coming back here. I just would like to know your names, in case you do not heed that advice."

"Uh…I-I'm…Dianna," Dianna replied, figuring there was no point in giving him a false name, but she wasn't going to say a last name unless he specifically asked. She doubted she'd see him again, because now that she knew this beach was part of the Teyrn's property, she would not step foot here again, and she and Rosemary could live with going to the other beaches available to them.

"I'm…Rosemary," Rosemary muttered, inching further away and closer to the cliff wall.

"Well, Dianna, Rosemary, you both should return on home," the man said.

The two nodded vigorously.

"Yes, right away," Dianna said, whirling around and running to the cliff wall before quickly climbing her way up.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Rosemary shouted, shimmying on up right behind her.

The rider stayed, watching the two in shock as he watched them climb up, and then disappear over the top of the cliff. Pulling his horse back around, he headed back toward the castle.

"Never again," Dianna gasped as she and Rosemary sat down on the chairs in the main room of their home, "We are never going back there. If we're caught again, and by someone who isn't as lenient, we're going to be in huge trouble."

"Even though that cave is there?" Rosemary asked.

Dianna shook her head, "Not worth it. Rosemary, we were on castle land. We could have been thought as intruders, trying to sneak into the castle. We can be killed on sight for that sort of stuff."

Rosemary paled, "Oh…really?"

"Really, really," Dianna replied.

"Oh…well…um…then yeah, we'll never go there again."

Dianna reclined against the chair she was in, taking in deep breaths to regain all the breath she had lost. Once she and Rosemary reached the top of the cliff, they ran straight back home, not slowing down one bit. Dianna couldn't help but think back to the man they had run into on the beach, a slight blush staining her cheeks. She was grateful he had let the two of them go, but she couldn't help but wonder who he was, and whether there was a chance of seeing him again.

Fergus sat in his room, what used to be his parents room, just staring at the wall. This place brought back so many memories, all of which pained him. He missed his parents, and his wife and child terribly. It brought tears to his eyes whenever he thought of them, how they were all slaughtered in their sleep, and how his son never had the chance to really grow up, and enjoy life. Having taken him so long to return from Ostagar, Fergus had been afraid that his brother too had been killed as well, but then heard he was leading the attack in the final battle against the darkspawn. Finally making his way to Denerim, he met up with his brother after the battle. Fergus found that Aedan was…different from how he remembered him. He had always been curt in his dealings with other people, but he had never seen him so angry, and commanding, and…just dark. Fergus had a feeling that it was something that happened that night when Howe took over Highever that caused such a change in his brother, or something that started the transformation within him. What he saw now in his brother, was not the person he had grown up with, but someone else entirely.

Hearing a knock at his door, Fergus got to his feet and opened it.

"I apologize for disrupting you my Lord," the male servant apologized as he held out a letter to him, "But this just arrived from…his majesty."

"It is alright, this sort of thing best not wait, especially when it is my brother," Fergus said.

The man bowed, and then took his leave. Closing the door, Fergus sat down at the desk in the room, and began to open the letter. Fergus was hoping it wasn't another notice to him that Aedan would be coming again, because he really didn't want to have to deal with his brother again. It felt like he was just here anyway, having arrived over a month ago and stayed for just over a week while on a wild goose chase for a pair of fugitives, before he had to return to Denerim for the Royal Wedding, on which Fergus had to attend as well. He really had only been away from his brother for just barely two weeks. Pulling out the letter, and reading over it, it was as he feared. Aedan was coming again, to resume his search for this Alistair and Olyvia he was hell-bent on finding. Aedan was expected to arrive within two weeks, and Fergus groaned when he saw he was expecting a lavish welcome, since he was the king. That meant Fergus would have to throw a sort of party. He would have to invite all of the wealthy families in Highever to have a decent enough of a crowd to suit Aedan's "needs", though Fergus was tempted to just invite the whole city so it would be likely to have a crowd. Even though Aedan hadn't been crowned king for long, he already made himself rather unpopular, and disliked by the people. Fergus wouldn't be surprised if no one accepted the invitation, but then again, they would only come out of fear that Aedan would bring his wrath down upon them for not accepting the privilege to see him.

"Great…this is going to be…a nightmare," Fergus groaned, running his hands down his face.

He loved his brother, yes, because he was his brother, but he had changed so much from how he once knew him, that he could hardly stand to be around him anymore. Pushing himself away from the desk, he headed out to find the most recent city census to get the names of the wealthier citizens, which one had been done when he had been reinstated as Teyrn, because Aedan would probably find them just barely suitable, but they would be enough for a crowd. If anyone showed up.

Reaching his study, he sifted through the documents there until he found what he was looking for, and laid it out on his study, and readied a quill and some ink. Tonight was going to be a long night.

As he sifted through the names, he found his mind wandering instead of focusing on his most recent task, when the face of the woman he saw that afternoon popped into his mind. His heart clenched painfully remembering it. She reminded him so much of Oriana, with the same oval face, and full lips, and large eyes. He had frozen for a few seconds when he first saw her, taken away by the resemblance, before he found his words again. She was quite…beautiful, but it also hurt, thinking about her. There were many differences between her and Oriana, of course. While Oriana had short fiery red hair and light brown eyes, this woman had long hazel brown hair that cascaded down her back, and bright jade green eyes. As much as it hurt though, he just couldn't get her out of his mind, because of those similarities, and how beautiful he thought she was. He sighed heavily. He doubted he would see her again though. She was most likely a refugee, like most of the others in the city, he assumed because she didn't seem to recognize him as the Teyrn, while most of the citizens who had lived here for most or all of their lives knew his face. He would just have to put her out of his mind, and go back to living his lonely life. Perhaps someday he would marry again, but it would take him some time yet to heal over his great loss.

Dianna was cleaning in the kitchen when her mother came tearing into the house, shouting to everyone that they had gotten another letter from Olyvia. Dropping everything, Dianna raced into the living room and slid to a stop on her knees in front of her mother who had sat down in a chair. Rosemary arrived next, coming down the stairs two at a time, nearly causing her to face plant at the bottom, but managed to catch herself, and plopped down on the floor beside her sister. Since their dad was at work, Brenda went ahead and started opening up the letter, when Dianna noticed a rather fancy envelope still sitting on her lap.

"What is that?" Dianna asked, pointing at the envelope.

Brenda paused, "Oh, something that came from Highever Castle. It can wait."

Dianna nodded in agreement, "Yes. Olyvia's letter is so much more important."

Unfolding the letter, Brenda began reading it aloud for her daughters. The beginning was typical, saying how much she missed them, and how life was going for her. It was toward the middle of the letter that had the big news though.

"Now that it has been some time to be sure of mine and Alistair's suspicions, I am now letting you know that I…"

Brenda let out a scream, sounding shocked, and thrilled at the same time, a hand flying to her mouth.

"What? She's what?" Rosemary asked.

"She's pregnant!" Brenda exclaimed.

The two sister's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates before Rosemary started squealing in delight too, causing Dianna to fall over backwards from the force of her voice.

"Ow! Rosemary, can't you be a little quieter?" Dianna asked.

"I'm excited! Livy is going to have a baby!" Rosemary said excitedly.

"Oh, I wish more than ever to see her now," Brenda said sadly.

"Maybe after she has the baby," Dianna said, "That way, you'll be able to help her with the baby, and get to meet your grandkid."

Brenda nodded, "That would be better. Oh I'm so excited for her! It's going to be tough though, having a baby in this day and age."

Dianna nodded in agreement, "I bet. So what else is going on?"

Brenda picked the letter back up, and resumed where she left off, a huge grin spreading across Rosemary's face at the thought of becoming an aunt.

"Give everyone hugs for me, and my love. Love Olyvia," Brenda finished the letter.

"Livy's going to have a baby!" Rosemary squealed.

"Now what is the other letter?" Dianna asked, "I am somewhat interested to see what that contains."

Opening up the next envelope, Brenda pulled out the parchment inside, and scanned over it, a frown etching into her features.

"Not good, I take it," Dianna muttered.

"Well, that Aedan character who is now the king is coming here again," Brenda said, knowing full well that he was searching after her daughter, "And the Teyrn is throwing a welcoming party for him the eve of his arrival, and we're invited. Why would the Teyrn throw a party for him?"

"One, he's the king and probably ordered it," Dianna began, "and two, Aedan is Teyrn Cousland's brother, so that is another possible reason of why."

"I feel so sorry for the Teyrn to have him as his brother," Rosemary muttered.

"As do I," Dianna said, "So when is this 'party'?"

"On the eighteenth," Brenda replied.

"Eighteenth!?" Dianna exclaimed, "That's just…eleven days away! And how are we invited anyway? I thought we were nobodies!"

"Well…we are rather wealthy," Brenda said, "due to the money I earn doing alterations, and what your father earns with his job. I don't know if that's it, or what, but I am not going to be going. That man is after my daughter, aiming to kill her! I won't go to anything celebratory in his honor."

"Uh…well Mom, that might look bad on us," Dianna said, "If he figures out that someone didn't show, imagine how angry he'd get. From what Livy told us, he has quite the temper."

Brenda sighed, "I guess you're right."

"What are we going to wear then?" Rosemary asked in horror, "Eleven days isn't enough time to make anything."

"You have dresses that will work," Brenda said.

"We do?" Dianna asked.

Brenda sighed, "Come on girls, follow me, and I'll show you."

The days just seemed to fly by, and before Fergus knew it, he was waiting in the main hall for his brother to arrive. He was just run ragged dealing with all the preparations that had to be made for his arrival, but he was trying his hardest to look pleased to see his brother. As Aedan strode into the main hall, Fergus walked toward him to greet him.

"I am pleased to see you have made it safely brother," Fergus said.

"It's your majesty now," Aedan said bitterly.

Fergus's face fell slightly, "We're still brothers though."

"Then I guess I can let it slide just this once," Aedan said, "So what are your plans for this evening?"

"Well…we are holding a gala in the castle to welcome you back home," Fergus said, "As you asked. The guests will be arriving just before sunset."

"Glad to hear it," Aedan said lowly, "May I be brought to my chambers? I wish to rest a little from my trip. I am a very busy man, and after tonight, I have a lot of work to do."

Fergus nodded, "Yes…your majesty."

Turning to one of the servants, he asked for him to escort his majesty to his quarters for his stay, and the servant bowed reverently to the both of them before leading Aedan towards his rooms. Fergus sighed dejectedly. That man…was not his brother.

"Mom…is this really necessary?" Dianna asked as her mother worked away at putting her hair up into a nice, elegant bun.

"Yes," Brenda replied, "A lot of people have been invited to this event, and I am willing to bet there will be many young men there as well tonight. It wouldn't do you any harm to meet a nice young man."

Dianna sighed and rolled her eyes, "You just want a daughter to get married and have kids that you can actually see more often."

"Dianna, you are twenty-three," Brenda said, "You aren't getting any younger and you won't be living with us forever. You deserve to find someone and be happy with."

Dianna groaned, "Well, maybe I'm not interested in finding anyone right now."

"Doesn't matter, I'm going to doll you up for tonight," Brenda said.

"Too bad Livy isn't here," Rosemary commented, poking her head in through the open doorway leading into the powder room they had, "She was really good with the makeup."

"I think I can manage that on my own," Dianna said, "Mom is more worried about the hair."

After another half hour of working with the hair, Brenda finally finished, and Dianna worked on the makeup herself, using what Olyvia would call the natural colors on her skin to let her natural beauty shine. Then she next turned onto Rosemary, putting some on her as well, though she wasn't all too thrilled about it. Since she was finished with the rest of her outfit, Dianna looked over herself in the full-length mirror in the powder room. She was wearing a flattering dark green gown, with an upside down V cutout in the skirt, showing the jade green color beneath. She liked the sleeves the most though, the long, wide tapering sleeves, making her feel very elegant. The v-neckline dipped down just enough to show just the tiniest bit of cleavage, just enough to give off some appeal without looking like she was trying too hard. Her mother really wanted her to get married, didn't she?

"We look so pretty!" Rosemary exclaimed, a huge grin on her face as she spun around.

She was wearing a flowing lilac colored dress that she wore a structured long sleeved shrug over, just a shade darker than the dress, and her hair was pulled back in a half ponytail, a white flower clipped in at the back of it. Dianna's own bun had a handful of tiny white flowers put in it as well, not overwhelming the hairstyle, or covering it up, but just enough to add a little bit of interest in it.

"I don't think I want to go," Dianna groaned, starting to feel a little sick that her mom was treating this like a matchmaking event.

"You have to go! Don't make me go with just Mom and Dad!" Rosemary wailed.

"You realize that we're probably going to have to dance though, right?" Dianna asked, "We don't know any dances so we'll just look like fools!"

Rosemary pursed her lips in thought, "Then we'll just linger around to prevent any dancing."

Dianna sighed, and then the two heard their mother calling for them, telling them it was time to go. With another groan, Dianna pulled on her dark green cloak to help stave off the winter chill and headed downstairs with her sister. She would just have to do her best to be invisible tonight, and from years of practice, she believed she could do it.

As the time for the guest to start arriving grew nearer, Fergus grew more ill. He had a feeling tonight would turn into a disaster, and he would be the one that had to clean up the mess. As he stared out of his bedroom window, trying to forget about the impending party, his mind wandered back to that woman he saw at the beach. He hadn't been able to get her out of his head since that day, and he was willing to bet that was part of what contributed to his depressed mood.

"Are you still moping about in here?" he heard a voice ask.

Turning around he saw that it was his brother. He should have figured, since he was the only one who would speak to him in that way.

"Does being here not bring back unwanted memories that you would rather forget?" Fergus asked in reply.

"Of course it does," Aedan spat, "I was actually here that night."

"You think I wanted to be gone?" Fergus asked, "I didn't want to leave, but I had to. I was following through with my orders. I would have stayed, if Father didn't want me to leave that afternoon."

"I've been able to get over it," Aedan said, "Being here does bring back some of the memories, but I just push them away. I have other things to think about, other things to take care of."

"Perhaps you're only able to get over it, because of what you saw that night," Fergus said, "I…I have no closure over what happened to Oriana and Oren. All I have, is the word of others of what happened that night."

"Do you think really knowing will help any then?" Aedan asked, his eyes narrowing, "Because you can hear it straight from the sole survivor of that night of what happened, if you think it will help. Question is, do you really want to know how they died?"

Fergus's heart fell into the pit of his stomach, "No…that's not what I want. I don't know what will help me, but I know that won't."

"Then stop whining and buck up," Aedan snapped, "You are now the Teyrn of Highever, don't make yourself look weak."

And with that he turned and strode out of the room. Fergus squeezed his eyes shut, a few tears escaping and sliding down his cheeks. His brother just didn't understand. He didn't lose someone that was as much of a part of him as Oriana and Oren were to Fergus.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, he took a few moments to clear his head before making his way to the main hall. He had to be present to welcome his guests.

"I'm starting to feel sick," Rosemary lamented as they passed through the outer gates leading to the castle.

"You think you are? I've been feeling sick," Dianna muttered.

"I'm sure you both have little to worry about," Brenda said.

"Except for running into his majesty," Dianna drawled.

Brenda pursed her lips, "I doubt he'll be mingling much among the others. He thinks very highly of himself after all, but you are right, that wouldn't be good if we did."

"Especially if he figures out who we're related to," Dianna muttered, "He knows Rosemary is one of Olyvia's sisters. He hasn't seen any of us with her though so I suggest we keep Rosemary in the back of the crowd since she'll be hard to see due to her height."

Rosemary frowned up at her sister, "I'm not that short anymore! I've gotten taller!"

"By a few millimeters, maybe," Dianna retorted.

Rosemary growled in frustration, but Brenda silenced the two of them as they came to the main doors. It was time to act civilized now. Their father handed the invitation to a man standing at the door collecting them, and he welcomed them in. Dianna and Rosemary stood closer together, linking their arms together as they followed their parents inside. Dianna was busy staring at the floor as they walked in and came to a stop so she didn't notice what her sister had.

"Oh my gosh!" Rosemary said in a hushed voice, "Dianna! That's…that's the guy we saw at the beach!"

Dianna whipped her head up, her cheeks turning scarlet when she saw the man, and her eyes grew wide as he welcomed her parents, and their family, to his home. Her heart started to pound wildly in her chest. She had no idea that he was the Teyrn!

"I'm going to puke," Dianna whispered, quickly turning her face away so he wouldn't notice her.

"Are you going to say anything to him?" Rosemary asked quietly.

"Of course not!" Dianna replied, "One does not simply speak to the Teyrn. Let's just…walk on into the hall and act like we didn't notice him."

As they went to go though, he noticed her, his eyes widening in shock.

"You!" he exclaimed in shock.

Dianna screeched to a halt, her blush reaching all the way to her ears as she slowly turned her head to face him. To her, it sounded like he was just referring to her, and not her and her sister.

"I-I-I…uh...yes…me," Dianna stammered, "Um…good evening, your Lordship."

With another quick bow, she tugged on Rosemary's arm as she surged forward, following her parents into the next room. Fergus opened his mouth to say something, call her back, almost going to go after her when he stopped. He had more guests arriving, and he couldn't just leave his post and not greet the others. He reluctantly stepped back to where he had been standing, and forced a smile on his face as he greeted the next guests. His heart was just hammering away in his chest. He was so shocked to see her, and was a little surprised with himself that he was…glad to see her again. Once all the guests had arrived, he promised himself he would go speak with her. Even though he didn't know much about this woman, he was already captivated by her.

Dianna could hardly breathe as she pressed herself up against the wall as they entered what she would call the ballroom, panicking over the fact that the man she and her sister ran into at the beach was the Teyrn of Highever and remembered her. Though…really, who would forget two strange girls trespassing on their land? He didn't seem to recall Rosemary's presence though, having made to statement as he did with her so Dianna couldn't help but freak out a little.

"Dianna? You okay?" Rosemary asked.

"No, I am not okay!" Dianna replied shrilly, "How does he remember me? Just me?"

"Maybe he thinks you are pretty," Rosemary said with a sly grin.

Dianna's blush darkened, "I-I doubt that."

"Then what other reason can you think of?" Rosemary asked.

Dianna thought over it for a few seconds, "Because I was the one who did the talking when he found us trespassing on his land?"

Rosemary shrugged, "Whatever, think what you want to think."

The two stood there in silence, watching as the crowd of people milled about the room, speaking with each other.

"So…what now?" Rosemary asked.

"We stand here?" Dianna replied uncertainly.

"Sounds good," Rosemary said, leaning against the wall beside her sister.

Dianna sighed heavily. This was going to be a long night.

It seemed like an eternity before the guests stopped arriving and Fergus was finally able to leave the main hall and join his guests. He first headed up onto the balcony overlooking the dance hall, where his brother was standing. It also would give him a good vantage point to look for that Dianna girl. He was just dying to speak with her.

"Are you going to be standing up here all night?" Fergus asked his brother as he went to stand beside him.

"I'm not exactly eager to join the festivities," Aedan said, "I can enjoy myself just fine up here, but I will eventually make my way down."

Fergus looked over to his brother after scanning through part of the crowd, "You said you wanted this, yet you don't look all that happy to be here."

"I'm never happy," Aedan said darkly, narrowing his gaze at his brother, "And you know damn well why."

"Aedan," Fergus said, not caring if he berated him for not addressing him by his title, "You can't go on like this. You're going to let this hate for that man tear you apart."

"It is not just the man that I hate!" Aedan hissed, "It is that damn woman of his as well! Or have you forgotten what she did to me!"

Aedan ripped back his sleeve to show the severe scar on his arm where Olyvia had stabbed him at the Landsmeet, crippling his sword arm for the rest of his life. It was also partially Morrigan's fault, since she gave no care into healing it properly. If he ever found that swamp witch, he would make sure she got the punishment she deserved also.

"Why can't you let this go?" Fergus asked, "They really are no threat to you, why do you treat them in such a way?"

"They are a threat Fergus!" Aedan snapped, "As long as Alistair is alive, there is still the possibility of him returning to attempt to usurp the throne. And as for that wench…she destroyed my life, so I will destroy her."

Fergus looked at his brother empathetically, "What happened to you Aedan? This is not the brother I remember."

"Howe happened, remember?" Aedan replied bitterly, "And don't forget the Blight because that is where Alistair and Olyvia came into the picture. I had to become the person who could deal with the situations given to me, and it needed a firm hand, not a yielding one. Don't think I have changed a lot Fergus, because I haven't. You just didn't know me as well as you thought you did."

"Aedan," Fergus said, hurt that Aedan thought he didn't know him. He knew him better than anyone. At least…before the Blight.

"It's your majesty," Aedan said before walking away to head down to the main floor.

Fergus's face fell as he stared down at the floor. He couldn't believe what his brother had changed into, and all because he couldn't handle his anger. Instead of venting, he let it consume him, and warp him into something unrecognizable. With a sigh, Fergus turned and headed down as well. He needed to be among others, so he didn't feel quite so alone.

Dianna and Rosemary had sidled their way along the wall to the buffet tables where they had gotten themselves a drink, and to try to ease their boredom, scanned the room for any familiar faces. There were a few Rosemary recognized, having made a few friends with some of their neighbors, but there was one face in particular that Dianna saw that made her blood boil. Aedan Cousland, his royal highness, or as she liked to refer to him in her head, the jackass that was trying to kill her sister. She saw that Teyrn Cousland was speaking with him, and it looked like they were having a rather intense conversation when Aedan stormed off, heading down the stairway to their floor. Dianna kept a sharp eye on him and began to panic when he started heading toward the buffet tables.

"Quick Rosemary! Into the crowd!" Dianna whispered urgently as she pushed Rosemary into the throng of people.

"Ah! Why?" Rosemary asked, just catching herself before she face planted.

"His royal pompousness is on his way," Dianna whispered.

Rosemary's eyes grew wide and she panicked for a few seconds before darting into the crowd. Dianna then began moving along the wall, hoping to avoid him herself. Stopping in the corner, well away from the tables, she let herself breathe. This was a little too stressful for her, her heart was hammering away in her chest like a caged bird. As she tried to catch her breath, a young man approached her. He had strawberry blond hair and a beard, and he looked rather stern.

"And what is a beauty like you doing over here all alone?" he asked with a lewd smirk.

"C-catching my breath," Dianna could honestly reply, "It's uh…quite lively in here."

Which was also true, the dancing going on in the center of the room being a lively dance. She hadn't been dancing though, but she definitely looked like she did, from how much she was just stressing out over the situation.

"Would you care to dance again?" the man asked, assuming she had meant she had been dancing.

"Um…thank you for the offer, but I am afraid I may pass out if I try again so soon," Dianna replied, "I would very much like to catch my breath."

"Then perhaps later?" he asked.

Dianna wracked her brain for some excuse to get away. She just did not get a good feeling about the man, and her gut was telling her to get away as fast as she could.

"Uh…oh, I apologize but I have just spotted my sister," she lied, "I've been looking for her since we first got here. If you'll excuse me."

Slipping past him, she began to make her way through the crowd, and as she nearly made it to the other side of the room, she ran into someone who suddenly stepped into her path.

"I am so sorry I—," she froze as she stared up directly into Aedan's glaring green eyes.

"YOU!" he roared.

Dianna swallowed hard. This didn't look good.