This is it. Epilogue is here! Turned out longer than planned. Oh well! Thanks ever so much for all the support with this fic, really, could not have finished it without your kind words. Hope the end does not disappoint. I am considering writing another dragon age story, but am not quite decided yet. I need to know I'd finish it, because I know I hate finding fics that get abandoned!

Anyways, enjoy :)

Once she'd finished crying, Beth found that for the first time in ages, she felt light, unburdened, free. It wasn't the crying so much as the admission of her situation to Krem, as she was certain that no one, apart from the healers who had treated her, knew of the state of her lower body. It was unfortunate that Krem had to know, but really, he had to know, and if anyone was likely to understand what it was like to be a bit annoyed at what you had under your trousers, it would be him.

That evening, after she bathed, Beth looked at herself in the mirror. Her bare legs and stomach, scarred, coloured, uneven grounds, a battlefield of purples and greens, not the legs of a young maiden. She was torn. She knew not whether to hate the scars or be proud of them, for, surely, there could not be that many people to have survived an attack from a dragon! There had to be pride in that, not shame. Perhaps all she needed was for someone to try and shame her, and then she could, out of defiance, accept the scars and wear them as a badge of honour. But then, she locked eyes with her reflection, and felt herself on the verge of tears. Why did she have to look like is?

Poor Krem.

That, too, played on her mind.

Poor Krem. He thought he'd found a girl, and she turned out to be looking like a lizard. Maybe he'd think no other girl would want him, and because of that, he'd put up with her looks.

She couldn't bear it.

If he stayed with her, she could not bear it, she could not bear watching the grim resolution in his eyes as he touched her, could not bear the excuses he'd find not to touch her. She would also not have the strength to turn him up down, however, were he to persist in courting her. Perhaps she could make herself forget, perhaps she could let herself rejoice in his attention, his kindness, until he found, inevitably, another girl, a human maybe, an unblemished girl. She would have to release him then, she would have to push him in her arms, because he'd peobably be too kind to leave.

She shook her head. Enough.

Beth got dressed and noticed she was late for her shift. One last look at the mirror confirmed an undeniable puffiness around her eyes, remnants of her tears, and Beth hastily splashed her face with cold water, hoping the limit the damages. No one liked a crying waitress. As if on cue, her boss knocked on the door, impatiently.

"Coming!" She yelled.

"Beth!"

She ignored him, and he walked off. A couple minutes later, footsteps returned, and more knocking was heard.

"I said I'm coming! Give me a second, Maker's breath!"

"Beth?"

She froze. That wasn't the dwarf's voice.

"Beth?" Insisted Krem, behind the door. "Beth, may I come in? Please?"

Oh Maker. Beth looked around. The window?

Don't be ridiculous!

"Beth, are you... May I come in? Are you dressed?"

The words still stuck in her throat, so she nodded, although he could not see her, and smoothed her skirt and shirt then crossed her arms, tight, on her chest.

"I'm coming in, alright?"

Gently, Krem opened the door, giving her plenty of time to protest. When he heard no resistance, he stepped fully into the room, looked at her, almost shyly so.

"Hi" he said.

She nodded again, nervous beyond all rules of propriety.

"Beth, I uh, look, I understand this was difficult for you to tell me, and I appreciate you saying it, but really, truly, I can assure you that, if you do want me like I want you, then it's not some scars that will stop me."

"Some scars?" There was a hint of offence in her disbelief, and he hurriedly explained:

"Scars prove you're brave, they prove you're a survivor, I'd be proud to say that my-my- my girl," he blushed, "survived a dragon. I have a lot of scars myself, but they're not nearly as cool as yours. This one," he lifted his elbow where a white scar caught the light, " I got when I was seven and fell over because I was too busy looking at myself in the mirror to watch my step. I wish I could say it was from a dragon!" He shook his head, ran a hand through his hair. "No, I mean... This is coming out wrong, I don't mean as in you should be glad for what happened... I am just trying to say, I am just trying to say that I think you're beautiful. Every part of you."

Beth would have blushed if she did not have one last test to put him through.

"You've not seen every part of me" she said, then, calmly, she started undoing her shirt, revealing her neck, her breasts, bit by bit.

Krem looked utterly stunned, mouth open as he stared, then he recovered suddenly and shut the door behind him, locked eyes with her again.

"I'll show you a bit" she said. "So you get a real idea."

Her shirt fully unbuttoned, Beth let out a shaky breath as she showed him her stomach.

"See." She whimpered, "it's like that everywhere. And to the touch, it feels as bad as it looks."

"I'll be the judge of that, thank you very much." Replied Krem, though not unkindly.

He took a hesitant step forward, and extended his hands, slowly, once again giving her a chance to push him away. It took all of Beth's willpower not to run away, cover herself again. His hands reached her belly, and gently, tentatively, he put them on her waist, stroke the skin with his thumbs, pulled her towards him.

"You're beautiful," he repeated, reverently, letting a hand leave her side and caress her stomach, upwards, then travel over her breasts and neck before cupping her face, pulling her into a kiss. Beth melted into his embrace, finally letting the strong act go, a vague part of her mind fretting over how inappropriate it was for to be half naked in the arms of a guy. Krem must have thought that too, because he suddenly pulled away, breathless, blushing, adverting his eyes from her naked chest.

"So uh" he said, a bit too loudly, a bit too casually, "right."

Beth buttoned up her shirt, hardly believing her boldness.

"So.. Right. So that's agreed then, right? I don't mind. How did you uh, how did you survive the attack? If you don't mind me asking."

"Not at all!" Beth nearly shouted, fumbling with the buttons of her shirt, fingers trembling. "I- oh well I was very scared, as you can imagine, and in a lot of pain, but then I just sort of lost consciousness, except I was still conscious? Does that make sense? "

He nodded, too fast, too abruptly, his eyes looking everywhere but at her chest.

"Actually no" he said, shaking his head, "what do you mean?"

"I mean I... I guess my brain went into survival mode or something, and suddenly I felt no pain, no fear, and when the dragon came to eat me I just lied there and told myself that I wasn't there, over and over again, and then... Then the dragon didn't see me. Yep. That's it! It's as crazy and simple as that! I've done it before, once, when I was little and accidentally stepped into the water back at the Mire. An undead came out and looked for me, but I kept on telling myself I wasn't there, and somehow it didn't see me."

She laughed, nervous, not quite sure whether to be elated over Krem's acceptance or mortified over her own exhibitionism.

"Wow" said Krem, frowning. "Bet the Chief would love to hear about something like that. You should tell him some time."

As he spoke, Krem was backing away, until he'd almost fully left the room.

"I'll see you tonight, alright? As... As my girl?"

She nodded, eyes bright, cheeks red, and when he left she did actually do a little dance.

From then on, as all last traces of ignorance had been erased between them, Beth and Krem were free to live their romance as they pleased. Although they did fall into each other's arms, and then into Beth's bed, they had yet to have sex. Each time Krem timidly attempted to slip a hand under Beth's top, or skirt, she panicked, and he stopped, kissing her gently, lovingly, until her heart beat a normal rhythm again. Likewise, when Beth tried to touch Krem's chest, or lower, she felt him stiffen, with more nerve than arousal, so she hugged him, her arms wrapped around safe areas of his body. There was no rush, they told themselves. They were comfortable like this, for now.

About a month or so later, Beth was watching Krem practise with the others when the Iron Bull came to sit next to her. He was remarkably discreet for someone that size, and she jumped when she heard his low voice right next to her.

"So, Beth," he said, resting his massive arm on his huge knee. "How you holding up?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she replied, trying to conceal the fact that she'd just been openly staring at Krem's arms and shoulders.

"Lieutenant Acclassi treating you good?"

"Yes."

They remained silent for a little while, then the Iron Bull spoke again.

"You like your job?"

The question was so unexpected that it did take Beth a moment to process it.

"It's fine, yes."

"So, what about the future, you looking to manage the place, or...?"

"I don't think that will happen... Maybe, I don't know, why?"

"Just asking. Do you know what the Chargers are? Has Krem told you about us?"

"Mercenaries?"

"Yup. Good ones, at that. We're not thieves or bandits, we only go after bad guys, take jobs that have a bit of a moral stand to them, you see."

She nodded, carefully.

"We don't tend to spend too long in the same place," continued the massive Qunari, "we travel. Once this Inquisition business is sorted, we'll probably be on the road again."

Ah. That was it. He was warning her, Krem would eventually have to leave her. She'd go back to her sad little life, forget it all ever happened. He'd find another girl somewhere, a smooth girl.

"Anyways," Iron Bull said, fixing her with an intense look. "We're always looking for new talents. People to train and keep on. If they get on well with the rest of the team, then that's a plus."

Wait... Was he suggesting...? Beth faced him fully, forgetting how intimidated she felt around him, trying to find a trace of mockery on his face. None.

"I... I'm not a warrior." She snorted.

"No, you're not," conceded the Qunari. "You" he leaned close, pointed a finger at her nose. "Are a rogue. A rogue that's begging to get proper training. Trust me. I've got an eye for these things. Not everyone can escape a dragon, and certainly not by using stealth, without ever having been taught the skill." He leaned back, and Beth threw a glance at Krem, who was looking at them suspiciously.

"You move fast, and well, you have good balance, you're quiet, and you can disappear. Literally disappear. You're a rogue, there's no doubt about it. You're no waitress, or farmer, and it's about time you be trained properly. I can offer you that training, and a lifetime of adventures and travels." He blinked at her. "Can also throw in a shared tent with the Vint, if you like."

"Are you serious?"

"Deadly. Plus, I wouldn't want to lose my lieutenant. See my options? Lose the lieutenant, or gain a rogue."

Beth could not believe her ears. Her, a Charger? A rogue? An adventurer? Really?

"You think about it" said the Bull.

Beth looked at the tavern, looked at her hands. Looked at her dog.

"You can take the dog, I guess."

She looked back to the Iron Bull, and found it impossible to say a thing. So instead, she smiled at him. Truly smiled. He smiled back, gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder. Beth looked at Krem. She locked eyes with him, her hero, her dream, her future.

She smiled, and he smiled back.

The sun was shining bright that day, and under its rays, Beth smiled. She smiled.