Alright, here's chapter 2! So exciting. I had some fun writing this chapter. I felt like Alistair acted a bit childish during the Landsmeet when you choose to spare Loghain, and I wish he just stopped to think a bit, so I wanted to make a more mature Alistair. This is the hardened and less naive Alistair. I tried to keep some of his humor, but this is a dramatic chapter. The next one should be a bit more fun as Alistair works to break down the emotional walls of our beloved Warden with a giant broad sword.

Anyways, enjoy!

Disclaimer: Bioware owns everything. I'm just borrowing it.

Fairytale Ending: Chapter 2

Alistair couldn't sleep. It was elusive in the last few days, along with the ability to reason properly. The cause was staring him right in the face – Noël Cousland. Two years ago she betrayed him. Eight months ago she 'died' crushing him more than he thought possible. Three days ago she was 'resurrected', showing up in his throne room.

Two things were on his mind: 1) He needed to get a better information network and 2) He was still in love with Noël. Damn him.

It was these thoughts that had stirred him from his bed. His feet found their way to his sanctum, the training grounds, where he had come to be alone. It had worked for two years, because Anora hated 'the smell of men', as she delicately put it. Tonight however, the source of his current unease was there.

Even though it was night, he could still tell it was her – the moon was bright, glistening off her uniquely silver hair, it outlined her body as she moved fluidly through the darkness and besides, who else would be here at this time at night?

He gritted his teeth. That damned woman. The Blight take her for everything she had put him through in the last two years.

Two Years Ago

Alistair awoke feeling slightly cold and he reached out for his companion and the blanket. He fumbled about only to grasp her foot. Noël giggled and he cracked open an eye to look at her but could only make out her form in the dim light.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking." She responded, glancing off into the darkness.

"Ah, that. You know that is a very dangerous thing."

"So I've been told." He could almost hear her smile in the darkness.

Alistair propped himself up on his elbows, "What were you thinking about?"

"We're almost at the end of it all: The Blight, the fighting…everything."

"Big thoughts for a quiet night."

"Isn't it just?"

Alistair reached out to take her hand, "Well, look at it this way, while you won't have the blood, guts and tears anymore, you'll still have me."

She smiled again at that and squeezed his hand, "I guess that I should thank them for that then."

"What?"

"The Blight. It took everything from me – my family, my land, my home – but it gave me you, and I won't let it take you from me."

Alistair pouted, "I thought I was supposed to do the protecting here. I am the man in this relationship."

Noël smirked and leaned in to kiss him, "Says who?" Her hand ghosted across his chest and up to his neck.

"Says me," He said, tilting his head into her hand, "And I'm going to be king soon, so that's going to hold some weight."

"Ah," She responded pulling back from him, "Well, in that case your majesty, I guess you should put your pants back on and head back to your tent, if you want to continue to wear them in this relationship, that is."

Alistair grabbed her hand and held it tight to his chest, "A King can do what he wants, and I want to stay here tonight, so no. I don't care if the others know about us. They all assume as much anyways."

"Alistair."

"We don't know how many more night's like this we'll get," He brought her hand up to his lips and laid a gentle kiss on her palm, "Lets enjoy it." Pulling her closer to him, he continued his barrage of kisses, desperately trying to entice her to not kick him out on his ass.

Noël resigned herself and relaxed into him, resting her head on his chest, "I could get used to this whole being protected thing."

"You should," He smirked into her hair, "I'm not going to let you die before me."

Tensing, Noël shifted in the darkness. Alistair frowned as she tightened her grip on him, but said nothing. Clearly she was upset about something, but he wasn't going to pry. Death was always a possibility– for both of them.

"Same here," She whispered, clinging to him, "You aren't allowed to die for me."

The templar wanted to tell her that wasn't what he had said, but was cut off by a yawn. Dawn would be coming soon, and they had a long walk to Denerim ahead of them. Sleep now, and talk later.

Present

He had thought that they had been in love, and perhaps they were, but not enough. At the drop of a hat, everything he had built – trust, love, understanding – was crushed. She didn't understand him; value him, like he did her. She made that perfectly clear. Everyone did everything for his or her own gain, and for Noël Cousland, that meant the success of the campaign.

She was a commander first, a warrior second, and a woman third. Love was not as important as victory.

She had told him she would protect him from the Blight, but she should have protected him from herself. Swords and axes, he knew how defend himself from that, but from a cold and calculating woman, he had no experience with that.

Thoughts of that night still left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Two Years Ago

"I yield" Loghain had said. He wanted mercy? He never gave Duncan that option. Alistair had been a bit nervous, but only a bit, when Noel had decided to fight Loghain by herself. He wanted to do it, but Noel refused to let him. Ah well, it still worked out in the end, now he just had to wait for the satisfaction of watching his head roll.

Noël stood over the fallen warrior and he saw her glance over at Riordan and then stand taller, "I accept your surrender."

Alistair blinked. She didn't just say, what he thought she did…did she?

"I am not hearing this." Alistair spat. Everyone's eyes turned to him except hers. She refused to face him, "He deserves to die."

"We need him." She spoke, her voice clear and controlled.

Alistair spun Noël towards him, "We need him like we need a knife in the back." He wanted to shake her, hit her, anything to get her to wake up and see reality. For a second, he could see her falter slightly. Her eyes softened and she reached up to grasp his hands.

"There are too few of us. We need more Wardens." Riordan agreed. His support seemed to bolster her and she stood up straighter. Slowly she removed his hands from her shoulders and stepped away from him.

"You are treating the Wardens like a punishment. It's an honor." She had to see that. That man, if you wanted to call him that, didn't deserve to serve in the same army as Duncan. He only deserved death.

"This is WAR Alistair, and we are too few. I will take recruits where I can find them."

"I could kill him once I've been crowned."

"And I can invoke the right of conscription." Any weakness left in her was completely gone. Her face was stone and her eyes were ice. It reminded him of when he first met her – cold and void of anything.

"I can't believe you're defending him." Alistair hissed. Stepping closer to her, but Noel didn't back away even an inch.

"And I can't believe that you are being so blinded." She growled back.

"Me? He hunted us, tortured others," He glanced up at Riordan, "And killed our order in one swift blow. How could you forget that?"

"I haven't and I won't. This decision is final Alistair. I tell you the same thing I told Sten: If you don't like how I run things, then you are welcome to leave."

All the fight seemed to leave him in a moment. She was abandoning him, casting him aside over this, this traitor. Alistair gritted his teeth. He should have known this day was going to come. Everyone always tossed him aside, everyone except Duncan, and she was tainting his memory.

"Everyone's only out for themselves. Isn't that right Noël?" Alistair couldn't even look at her.

"That's right Alistair." She whispered stepping away from.

"I'll still be king, and I'll still marry Anora, but I won't be part of the Wardens." It was meant to be an ultimatum, but it was poor and without strength. She looked back towards him, but still there was nothing behind the dark jewels of her eyes.

"Very well." She held up her hand silencing Lelianna behind her. He could see no regret in her eyes, and he vowed he would hold none either.

Present

The woman down in the courtyard seemed to be a very different person from that day. It shouldn't have been a surprise to him. Noël Cousland had shown a different face to the world every day, but he had once thought that he had seen her true self, that she had allowed him beyond the thick walls she had erected, but he had been wrong.

Alistair watched as she threw the knife at the dummy, hitting it perfectly, of course. She seemed angry, but she had no right to be. It was he who should have been angry at her, but he was more angry at himself. They hadn't spoken in two years and he had found himself wanting to hear her voice and ask her why. Why had she tossed him aside? How could she give him up so easily?

He had wanted to ask her the last time they had met, but he didn't have the strength to. The anger was still so sharp back then and he couldn't form the questions. The only things that came out were bitter words and accusations.

Two Years Ago

The fight was hard. Denerim had been overrun by the darkspawn. They were there, on every street, down ever ally, coming out of the houses and over the walls. Was this how Duncan had felt - being surrounded by darkspawn and relying on Loghain?

Alistair slashed though another Genlock, breathing heavily. They were never ending and he didn't know how the fight with the Archdemon was going. It had to end soon, their line was being pushed back. If it didn't fall shortly, then the darkspawn would win.

One moment they were on the verge of being overrun and then it was over. The Hurlock's blade stopped in mid air and the darkspawn turned towards the castle. Then they fled. As if they were an ebbing tide, they flowed out of the city, and Alistair's troops gave chase, cutting down all that they could.

By the time they returned the castle, men were already celebrating and telling stories of the fall of Archdemon, the strength of the wardens and of him, King Alistair who fought with and for the common man.

He hated it.

Alistair hadn't been searching for her when he found Noël on the steps leading to main entrance of the castle. She was sitting there covered in dirt and blood, streaked by her sweat. She looked exhausted, but very much alive. B her feet was Loki, her Mabari. Sometimes he wished he was the dog instead, everything was so much simpler – blind love and faith, no matter what.

He stopped in front of her and she looked up at him, allowing her head to roll back rest against the cool rock of the castle wall.

"You're going to go down in history as the King who ended this blight. Congratulations."

"And you will be a hero. The Hero of Fereldan, at least that's the murmurs I've heard. Everything you ever wanted." He all but spat.

"Lucky me." She smirked bitterly.

"The others?"

"Alive. Morrigain ran off. I don't expect to see her again," She smiled and looked off into the distance, "Riordan and Loghain are dead."

"Good," was all he could manage. He should be happy the man was dead, but to die as a warden and a hero, it left a bitter taste in Alistair's mouth.

Noël stood up and brushed herself off, "I've already talked to Anora. She is giving me Amaranthine. I'm going to rebuild the Wardens at Vigil's Keep."

He nodded. Duncan would have wanted that.

Silence reigned for a moment and then she sighed and turned to leave. There was no good bye, no explanation of her choices, no asking for forgiveness, and that made him resentful and thankful.

Alistair watched her walk away, and she never looked back.

Present

He saw her turn towards him and tense. She should be. He finally going to ask the questions that needed to be asked, say the words that need to be said, and if not, he would beat the answers out of her.

Noël Cousland. By the end of the night she would either be his again, or he would leave her as wounded as he was.

And that's it for today. Look forward to the next chapter. There will be blood, fighting and kissing! Still a long way to go till the happy ending.

'Til next time,

Galexz