All that could be heard throughout the eerie, dark hallway, was the sound of the Queen of Fereldan's footsteps as I stumbled aimlessly in the darkness. Only a few candles lit my path, the shapes of the cobblestone and various doors the only things see-able in the dim light.

'It's been a looong day...' I thought as I continued on my journey. Alistair and I had been sitting in the Grand Hall for most of the day, listening to our people's problems and giving our opinions on what should be done. Needless to say, sitting in my wooden Throne from dawn until dusk had left me tense and aching, rubbing my neck as I continued to walk down the hallway.

I soon came to a large wooden door, two guards on either side of it. I nodded to them in acknowledgement, receiving 'Good evening, Your Majesty' in return. I shook her head and smiled. Even after two years of being Queen, I still wasn't used to all the formalities and titles. The first time Mikka, mine and Alistair's assistant, had called me 'Your Majesty', I had completely ignored her, looking off at one side while the young girl waited shyly for me to reply.

I grasped the bronze knob to the bedroom, and turned it until I heard a satisfying 'click'. Pushing the door open, I walked through and closed it quickly behind me. The bed was the first thing that came into my view, and I began to slowly stumble towards it. However, before I could reach the bed, a rhythmic sound caught my attention. I looked to the far side of the room, to where the thumping seemed to be coming from. A smile graced my lips when I saw Leliana, in a long gold and red dress, leaning on her desk, her head being supported my her hand which was propped up on the wooden frame. With the other hand, she was tapping her finger on the table as she looked down at a sheet of parchment. Pausing, she moved her musical hand to where a pencil lay, jotting down notes and words on the paper.

Leaving her to her composition, I undid the sash around my waist, the damn thing too uncomfortable and tight around my body. I let the material fall to the floor next to our bed, which I then unceremoniously flopped onto. I instantly relaxed as I began to feel the comfort of the mattress strip away the stress and worries of the day, and I sighed contently into my pillow.

I heard a chuckle from the other side of the room, and the sound of a pencil hitting a hard surface. The scraping of wood against stone was next, then the clip-clapping of feet. After a few moments, I felt a dip in the bed and a soft hand on my shoulder. I squinted an eye open and looked up, the sight of my gorgeous, red headed lover glancing down at me bringing a smile to my lips. "Long day?" she asked as she began to rub my shoulder. I gave her a content groan, and she chuckled again, moving so she can do the same to my other shoulder. In seconds, she was giving me a full back massage, one that was washing the pain of sitting in a wooden chair for hours on end away.

I groaned my satisfaction again, and took a deep breath. "Too long," I eventually replied. "Alistair and I have been aching all day in the Grand Hall. When I agreed to help him being King, I didn't agree to this." A smile graced my lips as I turned on the bed, Leliana's hands no longer on my person. "But, Alistair did say that the next month or so was going to be relatively uneventful. Not many meetings, the people who are coming he can handle himself, I'm sure. Which means we can finally get back to travelling again; anywhere you want."

My chest warmed at the sight of her smile, and she nodded happily. She leant down to me and captured my lips in a sweet, gentle kiss, a hand resting on my cheek as she played with a few strands of my hair. We pulled away and she nudged my nose before pulling away. "If we can go anywhere I want, I'd really like to go to Orlais, to visit Dorethea. I haven't seen her in a while and she sent me a letter a few weeks ago."

I smiled again, resting my hands on her leg. "Of course," I replied. There was a comfortable silence that passed between us. I stared up at her as Leliana took off her shoes and made her way to her wardrobe, where she took out her night gown. Blindly, I reached below our bed, feeling for the familiar item that I kept hidden under our comforter. I grasped the worn leather and brought it out from under the bed, a book held tightly in my hands as if it were a trophy. I traced my finger down the side of the book, taking note of how old it looked. The pages were rigid, the leather was extremely worn out, and the writing on the front was barely even visible. I stared at the book and opened it, my eyes landing on a page that I had read time and time again. "I wonder where she is..." I wondered aloud.

"Nowhere that you'll be able to find her," Leliana replied. I stifled a laugh. That was true. The only reason I was able to find Morrigan last time was because she let me; because she allowed herself to be found. And for that, I was eternally grateful, for if she hadn't let me track her down, I would never have found this book- this precious book- which held the cure for mine and Alistair's taint.

After returning from my search, Alistair and I had spend most of our nights pouring over the book, wondering about it's secrets and the tales it had to share. A passage that caught my eye, however, was one that described a silvery-liquid, one which, if drunk, would cure any kind of illness, including a Grey Warden's Blight. The book explained that this liquid was artificial, that it was to be made, not naturally found. And to make it easier, none of the ingrediants for this liquid cure were in Thedus. Not to our knowledge, at least.

Sighing irritably, I returned the book to its rightful place under my bed as Leliana walked back from dressing, her bare legs leading her to her side of the large mattress. I lay on my stomach as I face her, my arms finding their way under my pillow. "It's out there somewhere, Leliana," I told her. She smiled at me and ran her hand through my hair as she slips between the covers. "Everything I need... I'm going to have to look for them eventually, for both mine and Alistair's sakes." I looked back up at her again, leaning into her hand. "But I don't want you to be alone again, either. I'm doing it for you, too, my love," I finished in a murmur.

Leliana leaned up on her elbow, taking one of my hands in hers, and inter-twining our fingers. "Once Alistair truly has everything under control, then I'll help you find what you need. I want to help Alistair, too, but he'll be fine for a while." She leaned down and kissed me again, a hand cupping my chin. She pulled away, smiled and leaned over me, stretching towards my bedside table to blow out the candle that eliminated the room.

Leliana settled back down beside me and kissed my cheek one final time before turning over, taking my hand and placing it around her stomach. I kissed her shoulder before becoming still, closing my eyes as I breathe in the scent of her silky hair.

Sleep took me quickly, plunging me into the dark realm of illusions and whispers- especially the whispers. True, I had heard these whispers before. Before we ended the Blight, I used to hear them in my dreams frequently; the harsh language of the Darkspawn, the commands of their Master as they marched off to destroy all that they see. However, this time is different.

This time, the foreign, aggressive language, it's words filled with blood-spitting venom and hatred, slowly began to make sense to me.

A.N: Can't say I'm overly impressed with this one, I kept putting it off due to writer's block and collage :/ BUT it's over now, and FINALLY someone gave me a prompt which I like! Guest Kias, you're awesome!

A heads up, I will not be updating this Fic for a while as I have collage exams coming up, so I really need to get some studying done, but feel free to leave a suggestion and I'll get round to it eventually. Until next time!

~RJay