Well...i broke down and decided to start writing the prequel to my other story Trials and Tribulations. =/ Now I have two stories to worry about lol. Well, lucky you readers, i hopefully won't be too busy during the week anymore starting next week, so i will be able to update more regularly. Though school and work take a huge chunk out of my spare time, not too mention Mass Effect 2.

As always, thanks to my beta! =)

"Open your eyes, a chill passes you by.
A premonition coming strong.
Rich with desire, a superstition in disguise.
Draws me into where I belong."

The first thing she heard was the sound of birds chirping. The first thing she saw was blackness. The first thing she felt was the cold wet grass underneath her. Then she realized that she had her eyes close. Then she felt a rush of pain from her head. It was pounding. Maker, what hit her? Then she remembered.

Kailee Cousland had gotten knocked out, again.

She groaned, placing her hand on her head, and sat up slowly. She had a welt on her forehead from Fergus bashing her with the pommel of his longsword. Kailee pouted; she could just imagine what her mother was going to say. She her a chuckle from behind her, and spun around to find the aforementioned brother standing behind her, smirking at her.

"Come now sister, you can't still be lying on the ground after that, after all your boasting at beating me?" He walked over and offered her his hand. Kailee glared at him and stood up, turning her back to him. Her shoulder-length brown hair shone in the sunlight.

"Well I wouldn't have lost if you had not thrown sand at me! You cheated because you knew I would beat you." Fergus chuckled as he walked in front of her and stared at her, still wearing his playful smirk.

"If I recall, little sister, you are a rouge. You fight dirty. So why should not I resort to the same tactics?" Kailee blinked, her violet eyes gaining a confusing, innocent look to them.

"Who? Me? Fight dirty?" She scoffed. "Why would I find the need to fight dirty?" She tried to hide her smile, but failed miserably under her brother's scrutinizing gaze. She laughed and turned on her heel, running towards the castle. Fergus was about to chase after her, but sighed. She had gotten a head start. It would be pointless to follow after her. Besides, he had to go see to his family. He cupped his hands around his mouth as he yelled after her.

Kailee stopped and took a deep breath before striding into the castle grounds. She figured she should go look for her mother, or her hound, Bello. She was slightly worried that he got into the larder again, for she had forgotten to lock him up in her room for the day. She shrugged. He needed the exercise.

She turned the corner and almost ran into a guard, who stumbled backwards, before bowing his head towards her. Kailee smiled at him.

"Sorry about that. I did not pay attention to where I was going." The guard smiled back at her, shaking his head dismissively.

"No apologies needed, my lady; I was actually on my way to look for you. And…where did you get that bruise?" Kailee tensed and blushed, moving her hair to try hiding the bruise. The guard shook his head again, hiding a smile. "Teryn Cousland wishes to see you in the main hall. He says he has something important to tell you."

Kailee blinked, somewhat excited. Maybe her father was finally going to let her join the army and march with him tomorrow. She did not particularly enjoy having her mother court her off to suitors, and she and the Teryna usually got into arguments over Kailee's well-being. It was not that she did not like her mother, quite the opposite. She loved her very much, but Kailee just never saw the point of getting married off to an almost complete stranger. She was very grateful when her father, Teryn Bryce Cousland, allowed her to train in weaponry with some of the guards, though at first she did it secretly.

She was broken from her thoughts when the guard cleared his throat, waiting for her to dismiss him. She blinked at first, and then blushed again. "Oh, I'm sorry Barret. You are dismissed, and I won't forget to bring you your favorites from the kitchen later today." Even though Kailee was friends with almost all of the guards, much to her mother's dislike, Barret and Ser Gilmore were her closest friends, her partners in crime. If one of them got into trouble, the other two would find a way to get them out of it, and it usually involved taking the fall. Barret smiled and waved as Kailee ran past him, towards her father's location.

~*~

Kailee heard the voices of her father and someone else in the main hall as she pushed the side door open. She walked over to her father and saw that Arl Howe was with him. She stopped and stared at the man her father regarded as a friend. Nothing about that man sat right with her, and it always took her biting her tongue not to say anything disrespectful towards him. Ah, the joys of political friends. She sighed and walked over to them.

"Ah, pup, you came. Howe, you remember my youngest?" Arl Howe turned to look at her, his eyes, as always, scrutinizing her. Kailee was still clad in her armor, her two daggers strapped to her back.

"Ah yes I remember her. Though I do not know why she still persists such male occupations." Her father might have missed the underlying bite of the remark, but Kailee sure did not. She had to fight with all her strength not to glare at the arl. Arl Howe's lips twisted into a slight smirk; it sent chills down her spine. "My son Thomas has been asking after you. He seems to be quite infatuated with you." Thomas? The chubby, short, arrogant ass Thomas? Kailee bit back a laugh.

"I was under the impression he did not like me." Kailee had mastered the art of feigning certain emotions, so she crossed her arms over her chest and arched a brow up, looking curious. "He has decided to come around and spill his undying love for me now?" Her father chuckled behind her, placing his hand on her head.

"I'm sure Thomas would love to see my daughter, Howe. You should bring him next time you visit." Right, so she could embarrass him again in front of all the guards? The last time she saw him over in Highever, he tried to boast that he could beat her in a duel, and she slashed his pants off. She vividly remembered him turning a wonderful shade of pink, and running off. "Anyways, pup, I did not cal you here just for chatting about potential suitors." He gave her a slight wink, which she smiled in return. "I need you to go find Fergus and relay to him that he should leave tonight, ahead of Howe and me. It seems Howe's troops are delayed, and are expected here tonight." Kailee nodded, about to turn and go find her father, when the information finally clicked in her skull.

"Wait, you mean I won't be fighting in the battle?"

Bryce shook his head, looking at his daughter. "No, I need you to stay here and lead the remaining troops here to guard the castle. I'm only leaving a token force here, so it should be plenty enough for you."

"But Father!" She might have stretched out the 'Father' part, but she wanted her point to get across. She stuck out her lip and widened her eyes, staring at him. "You promised me that you would take me with you to go see King Cailin!" That was not the real reason he promised her, but Howe did not need to know that. She actually wanted to go because she heard the Grey Wardens would be there, and she really wanted to visit her adoptive brother, who was recruited around six months ago into the order. The last time she saw him was a month ago, for her nineteenth birthday.

Bryce sighed and patted her head. "That look is not going to work on me this time, pup. I stand firm in my decision." When did he manage t become immune to her? She mentally smacked her forehead, now she was going to have to think of another way for him to be wrapped around her finger, so to speak.

"Fine. I'll stay, but I'm not going to like it one bit." Her father smiled, turning to Howe. That was when she leaned over, spotting a figure behind the other two men, partly hidden in the shadows. "Father, who is that?"

Teryn Cousland turned to where she was pointing and grinned at her. "Oh, I almost forgot. Forgive me. You remember Duncan? He has come to Highever to recruit." The man in question stepped forward towards the group. He smiled as he saw the youngest Courland's eyes light up, both in excitement and respect.

"By the Maker! Duncan! I have not seen you in months! It is a pleasure to see you again."

Duncan smiled and extended his hand to Kailee, who ignored it and hugged him. He was still not used to the girl's open show of affection, but he remembered that she was her brother's sister, and now he realized where he got it from. The two were alike in many ways. Duncan awkwardly smiled again as she let him go, straightening herself.

"It is a delight to see you as well, my lady. What the Teryn said was correct. I am here looking for potential recruits for the Grey Wardens. There is a Blight on the horizon." He did not miss Howe's snort of disapproval.

"How do you know it is actually a Blight, ser? It seems just like a large group of Darkspawn."

Duncan turned to look at the arl, his expression not changing. "We have sensed an arch demon, though it has yet to show itself." Howe 'hmphed' but stayed silent, settling for just glaring at the Warden. Kailee looked from Howe to Duncan, her slight sense of unease growing.

Her father seemed to jar her out of her thoughts as he spoke. "Kailee, I am sure you have many questions to ask Duncan, but right now we need to discuss our strategy, and I need you to go find Fergus and tell him to move on ahead of us. You can have all the time you want with Duncan afterwards."

Kailee sighed, looking down defeated for a moment, before looking up into her father eyes. Though he put up a show of authority in front of his guests, Kailee could make out his intense love and admiration for her. She guessed that he was sending her to find Fergus for her own safety, so she would not get any ideas regarding leaving the castle. She was torn between feeling bitter, and feeling somewhat grateful to him. She shrugged, deciding that if she was going to stay and watch over the remaining troops, she may as well get some quality time with them out of it.

She saluted her father and grinned. "Aye, aye sir! You can count on me to keep those boys in line." The Teryn smiled at her and ruffled her hair, before she bowed to Howe (reluctantly) and Duncan (respectfully) and left the room.

~*~

Kailee hummed to herself as she walked down the corridors of the estate. She was still a little angry with her father that he would not let her not join him and her brothers at Ostagar. But on the other hand, she was happy she was able to see Duncan again, although it reminded her how much she missed her adopted brother. The two of them got along well, and were even closer than she was to her father. She smiled as she remembered the times when they were younger, and ran through the castle pulling pranks on the guards.

She turned the corner, heading to the kitchen, when she crashed into something hard. She yelped and almost hit the ground, when she was grabbed and pulled up safely. She looked up and caught the eyes of Ser Gilmore.

"My lady, are you ok? You should watch where you are going." His concerned smile made her blush, as she hid her eyes behind her hair. She would ever tell him, but she has always had a small crush on him, even though they were the best of friends. They were always together when they were younger, running through the castle and getting into trouble.

She smiled back at him as he helped her to her feet. "Right, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't paying attention." She mumbled, hoping he would not catch her stuttering. Ser Gilmore laughed and patted her head. She glared at him as she fixed her gaze again, giving him a playful shove.

"Well, I was sent to find you. It seems Bello got into the larder again, and Nan is throwing a fit. She is threatening to leave."

Kailee arched her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "She always does though. It will be the same like every other time: she threatens to leave, but we end up saving her from the vicious attacks of my loveable war hound." She placed a hand over her heart and stood up on her tip toes, rocking back and having a horrified expression on her face, imitating her beloved Nan. Ser Gilmore could not contain himself, and started laughing.

"Ah yes. Well let us go save her again. Lead the way my lady."

~*~

The kitchen was in an uproar. Well, to be more specific, Nan was in an uproar. Her servants were standing before her, cowering in fear. Kailee walked up behind Nan, silently, and stood behind her, out of the old crow's view. She turned and winked to Ser Gilmore, before placing her hands on her hips, putting on a stern expression. She started imitating the woman in front of her, catching the eyes of the two elven servants. They looked at each other and could not hide their smiles.

"Why are you smiling?! Did you let that mongrel in the larder? Did you think it would be funny for him to eat all the food?! And young lady, stop imitating me this instant before I hit you over the head!"

Kailee stopped instantly and 'eeped'. How had she seen her? Nan turned to her and gave her a glare, before shaking her head and sighing.

"I'm getting too old for this. Your dog got into the larder again, and I can't get him out. He's going to eat everything!"

"He's just being a dog, Nan. You can't blame him for that. Maybe you should lock your larder tighter." Kailee smirked as Nan's face got even redder, adding to the hilarity of it all. Kailee sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "Alright, I'll go and get him. Come on, Ser Gilmore."

Ser Gilmore followed her as Kailee tried picking the lock. She gave one final tug and groaned, slamming her hand against the wooden door. "Maker, why won't this stupid door open?"

Ser Gilmore looked at her, then at the door, then back to her. He sighed and moved Kailee out of the way, before kicking the door open. Kailee stared at him and blinked. "You were too slow, my lady."

His grin made her scoff and glare at him, before walking in to find her hound, Bello, barking at a hole in the wall. She arched her brow as Bello turned and barked, wagging his stump of a tail at her. Ser Gilmore scratched his head. "Well, we found the dog. Now why was he in here?" Bello cocked his head to the side and turned back around, barking at a small hole in the corner of the room. Kailee walked over and knelt beside him, one hand on the dagger at her hilt, the other scratching him behind his ears.

"What do you see boy? Something bothering you?" Bello gave an affirmative bark as the rogue stood back up, her nose twitching. She always did that when she was thinking, it was quite a funny sight. Ser Gilmore could not help but chuckle as he saw her nose wrinkle, then twitch. Kailee shot a glare at him, sticking her tongue out. He just shook his head.

Then they heard squeaking.

Kailee yelped and jumped behind Ser Gilmore as four giant rats emerged from the hole.

"Andraste's flaming sword! Why did it have to be rats?!" She hid her head behind Ser Gilmore. "Oh brave ser knight, please save your damsel in distress!" Ser Gilmore cocked an eyebrow and looked at her, before unsheathing his sword and slaying the rats. Kailee grinned and hugged him, making the knight blush.

"For a woman who can best anyone in hand to hand combat…you sure are terrified of the little things."

"Hey, those were big rats!" Ser Gilmore just laughed at her, making her pout and blush again.

"You never cease to astound me, my lady."

"Oh shutup."