[She's right. Letting fear or the knowledge that something can't last hold him back is foolish. He's a Grey Warden. And he might well be a king soon too. Not only does he not have a long life in front of him but if he takes the throne then his life will no longer be his own. It will belong to the people of Ferelden. If he can find some happiness before then, even if it's fleeting, then shouldn't he take it? It would be a terrible thing to look back when his Calling eventually comes and realise all he has is regrets.

Exhaling slowly he finally relaxes and reaches down to catch Mystique's hand in his own, squeezing it gently.]

You're right. I don't want to regret not taking a chance on something because I was too scared of what might happen.

[Smiling tentatively Alistair sits beside her, still holding her hand. He's still not entirely sure it's a good idea - one of them could disappear tomorrow and that would be that. And yet he's been here months now and has no better idea what it will take to get home again than the day he arrived. And there are people who have been here for years and not found a way out. Much as that prospect scares him and as little as he wants to believe that will be the case for him, the fact remains that escaping could take a while. They should find what happiness they can in the meantime.

Which means he's going to need to work out how to properly woo her. Somehow. There must be someone he can ask for advice on that. Until then he'll have to fumble through as best he can.]

So. Um. How... How do you want to, ah- I mean, was there anything you wanted to talk about?

[Not that he's got all of that off his chest.]