Aedan stood in the darkness of his daughter's empty room gazing out of the massive window that overlooked the mountains outside of the keep. His faithful mabari Mathias lay on Ember's empty bed his eyes drooping sadly, whimpering occasionally to vocalize his sadness at the absence of the tiny human he had kept watch over for so long. Aedan looked back at his oldest friend sadly, unable to offer anything comforting to say as he was certain there was no comfort to be found.

He and the other parents had forged a plan to leave the keep at daybreak and pursue the captors as the first sign of light. Their plans however had changed with the events of the previous night. Leliana had been broken after discovering the news that one of her most trusted men had been involved in the abduction of the children, and while she did not outwardly express it, Aedan knew her well enough to know she was blaming herself for the disappearance of the children. She had locked herself up in the rookery and refused to see or speak to anyone, including Aedan. While the action had pained him, he understood the need to solitude and had since retreated to his daughter's bedroom to collect his thoughts away from the sympathetic stares of those in the keep.

Marjolaine.

Cole had read Athellion's thoughts and exposed her to be the one behind all of this. Aedan had had his doubts, not trusting the man who had torn his family apart. But his instincts told him that the condemned man spoke the truth. But he said that there were others as well, others who sought revenge against him. Not just him, Hawke and Rasler Trevelyan as well. They had no doubt each made their own enemies during their travels, but try as he might Aedan could not for the life of him think who had the means and resources to accomplish something of this nature. There was no doubt Majorlaine was behind this, she was the only one with the skills and knowledge to follow through with such a plan. In addition to all of her skills she knew Leliana inside and out giving her the advantage and upper hand.

Aedan's hands curled into fists and before he could stop himself he hit the door of the nearby wardrobe so hard the splinters in the wood cracked loudly, echoing in the small room. He pulled his bloody hand away from the damaged wood stretching his fingers.

"Am I interrupting? What, did the Inquistion use all of the practice dummies so you are trying to improvise?"

Aedan turned at the familiar voice.

"Alistair." Aedan said feeling somewhat guilty. In all of the chaos it had completely slipped his mind that his closest friend would be arriving today.

Alistair entered the room, stopping to scratch Mathias behind the ears. The hound perked up slightly at seeing Alistair as the two had developed a strange bond during their travels. Alistair even claimed he could understand the dog's barks to a point.

"Not quite the greeting I was expecting from you. You usually outdo yourself in your efforts to embarrass me whenever I visit. My personal favorite is the time you paid those elven girls fifty sovereigns each to pretend to swoon and faint when I walked by."

"I apologize Alistair, there has been-"

Alistair held up a hand cutting him off. "I know." His voice held a seriousness that Aedan had only ever heard once before. "Cullen told me as soon as I arrived. Aedan, I am truly..."His voice trailed off, unsure of how to finish the sentence.

Aedan nodded his head in understanding. It was one of the traits Alistair most appreciated about his friend; his ability to hear him even when he said nothing at all.

"How is Leliana?"

Aedan sighed. "She..." He ran his fingers trough his hair in frustration. "She had locked herself up and refuses to see anyone. She refuses food, she refuses to talk to anyone including me. I understand her need to be alone, but I feel as if I am losing her too and I can't..." Aedan felt his eyes welling up with tears. "I failed them Alistair. I swore I would protect them, keep them safe. I promised that to my baby girl since the time Leliana carried her, and I let her down, I failed. Just like I failed at Highever."

Alistair stepped forward and placed his hands on Aedan's shoulders. "Aedan, in all my years I have never met a better man. You go above and beyond when it is asked of you and you have never abandoned anyone in their hour of need. You are a much wiser man than I and a better father than I could ever hope to be. You did not fail, because in order to fail you will have to have first given up. And it is not within you to give up, even when the odds are stacked against you. I know you better than you know yourself, and I know what you are capable of. You will find her, and you will have all of Ferelden's forces behind you. You are not alone."

Aedan embraced his closest friend and took a steadying breath. "When did you become so wise?" Aedan managed to joke.

"When you spend most of your time in the company of diplomats and scribes you pick up a few things." Alistair said with his usual jolly voice. "Mostly I just put words together and hope they sound sensible."

Out in the corridor Alistair's son Duncan had been closely listening in on every word. Silently he turned on his heel, a plan having already formed in his mind before he reached the end of the long stone hallway.