Hey, guys. First fanfic in forever and a half. I'm going bananas waiting for DA3. This is my method of coping. I've got plans for this to be pretty long, but for now we'll see where it goes! :)

The first punch the guard landed on her barely made her blink.

The second punch the guard landed on her only made her angry.

The third punch the guard landed on her sent her sprawling back onto the floor with a nauseating crunch and veritable waterfall gushing from her nose.

Areth Tabris realized, with no small amount of disquiet, that she had been thoroughly walloped by a rather paunchy shem who didn't even have the courtesy to draw his weapon. Her mother must have been rolling in her grave, if not climbing out of it to give Areth a swift clip on the ears for letting that happen. Snorting the blood out of her nostrils, she heard it spatter against the cobblestones beneath her. Springing to her feet, her hand shot to grip the hilt of the dirk she had scrounged from one of the many unattended armories in the palace.

"You might have been a bit too occupied to notice, cousin, but I got him." chimed a voice a few paces behind her. Areth stumbled as she realized she was a bit more unsteady on her feet than she thought previously. She looked around haplessly, only to find the guard spread-eagle on the ground. Sporting some crossbow bolts square in his bloated gut and chest, to boot.

"Thanks, Soris." Areth mumbled, giving a shaky smile at her cousin. "D'you think we could keep quiet about this? I'd rather no one back home find out I got my bell rung by a rather hefty shemlen."

Her cousin cocked an eyebrow, already fitting another bolt to his crossbow, hands trembling almost imperceptibly. "I wouldn't breathe a word to anyone. Your new nose will speak for itself."

Areth gingerly ran a finger along the bridge of her nose and winced. It was busted up worse than she had even noticed, and crooked now. Fucking great. Hissing out a sigh, Areth jerked her head towards a door that presumably lead to more endless hallways. With the luck the elves had thus far, said halls were probably squirming with guards.

"Shemlen are better off as target practice, anyway." Areth growled under her breath, silently treading towards the door once she had scanned the hallway. "The pathetic sods won't even be recognizable by the time I'm done with them."

As they quietly slipped through the hallway, Areth couldn't help but shake the feeling that she and Soris were going to be too late. They'd managed good time through Arl of Denerim's estate; especially given they had to slice their way through armored guards to get anywhere at all. But that pig, that fucking pig, Vaughn seemed entirely too eager for her cousin to remain unscathed this long.

"Don't think about it. We just have to find Shianni, then we're home free." Areth thought, a scowl darkening her features. "And once I find Vaughn, I'll kill him. It's mercy he won't deserve, but the only good shem is a dead shem."

A faint clink of armor around the corner snapped her out of her reverie. She gestured at Soris, and she heard him pad to a stop close behind her. Elves, on the whole, had hearing superior to any other race, and Areth prided herself on having even better hearing than most. Given her ears were substantially larger than usual, she could hear quite a bit more than the average elf. In the heavy quiet that fell upon the entire hallway, she could hear everything. She heard the soft creak of Soris's finger on the trigger of his crossbow. She heard the raucous laughter of guards in the mess hall, too drunk to pay heed to the massacre going on within their own walls. She heard the breath of the guard around the corner. It wooshed in and out of his lungs with unsuspecting ease. He was drawing nearer, by the clop of his boots on the floor. Areth gritted her teeth, and she felt the coppery taste of the blood from her nose slither across her lips.

He hadn't even had the time to register his shock when he died. Areth's blade passed cleanly through his windpipe, and the breath that had come so freely to him earlier now whistled out of the slim hole in his neck. She managed to catch on to the front of his breastplate as he began to crumple, and with a little help from Soris, he was placed gently, soundlessly on the ground. Sparing a moment to glare at the corpse disdainfully, she looked up at her cousin.

"I think that makes up for my little mishap earlier, yeah?" She whispered with a wan smile, tapping softly on the tip of her bent nose for emphasis. Soris smiled briefly, but his eyes were entirely unreadable.

"I suppose."

Turning the corner, dirk drawn, Areth scanned the hall, wide eyes sweeping for any indication that they had been noticed. Finding nothing but a door a few meters away, she skirted along the wall as she made for it, Soris swiftly on her tail.

Underneath her roiling rage and calculated fury, Areth felt a glimmer of pride in her cousin. Where Areth tended to have a knack for violence, he absolutely reviled it. But, thanks to him, more than a few shem would have crossbow bolts wrenched out of their chests when this was all over. Although the entire situation was fucked halfway up shit creek, (to put it eloquently), Soris was keeping a remarkable handle on himself. Especially considering he was perhaps the most nervous and law-abiding elf in the Alienage. Desperate times, she supposed.

Rather suddenly, Areth remembered the first time she ever managed to steal anything. She had lifted an exotic fruit from one of the stalls in the Denerim market place with Shianni and Soris one late summer day. While she, already having a particular proclivity for trouble, grinned like the cat who ate the canary the entire way home, Soris had sobbed pitifully, always a few steps behind her at all times. Shianni, on the other hand, paraded proudly beside her younger cousin, a silly grin planted on her thin face.

The memory sent a pang of both fondness and sickening dread through the pit of her stomach, and Areth picked up the pace, trying to determine which door would lead to her inevitable massacre of Vaughn and his gaggle of henchmen. She could envision the young noble's face in her mind, pasty and pockmarked, sneering with smarmy entitlement. She predicted it would be getting slashed to ribbons in the near future, and the thought sent her heart skittering with anticipation. She'd finally have a reason to make one of these smug shem squeal like the pig he was, she-

"I think I hear something." Soris's voice was hushed and urgent as he grasped Areth's collar, effectively halting her. She stood stock still, the only movement the minute swivel and twitch of her ears as she strained to hear what Soris did. When she did, she felt her body flush cold with adrenaline, and grit her teeth in frustration that she hadn't heard it earlier. Guttural grunts and the creak of a bedframe weren't hard to mistake, nor were they subtle, and she could hear them all in maddening clarity. Her small frame seized up in horror.

"What is it?" Soris practically pleaded, gripping his cousin's arm. Areth felt her lips curl over her teeth, and the wave of fury that crashed over her made her head spin. She couldn't bring herself to answer Soris, and she tore off towards the door where the sounds were coming from.

"Areth, wait!" Soris hissed, trying to catch up with her. Areth was long past the point of no return, however. With a white-knuckled grip on the thick brass handle, she swung the heavy door open with the ease only granted to someone fueled by sheer rage. With the echoing slam of the door, Areth lunged into the room and sized up her prey. Two were shit drunk, one had just woken up with a start. None were armed. Easy pickings, she noted with a sneer that soon faltered into a snarl. The last man, Vaughn Urien himself, was in the process of buttoning his trousers, red faced and breathing heavily. She couldn't bring herself to look at the whimpering form that was Shianni. Not until he was long gone. Her blades shivered in her palms.

"Couldn't wait your turn?" Vaughn drawled. "Had I known you were so eager to join our party, I would have brought you along with this one." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the bed.

Areth spat at his feet as she heard a crossbow bolt find flesh behind her. Then another. If Vaughn cared at all that two of his friends were dead, he gave no indication. The sound of a knife being unsheathed behind her told her Soris was getting ready for a scrap. He wasn't much one for a knife fight, and she prayed to a Maker that she didn't believe in for his safety.

The fact that none of Vaughn's henchmen had not tried to attack her created a squirming weight in the pit of her stomach. He knew the elves were coming, and he didn't want her to get hurt. Not by them, at least. She was being saved for last.

She carefully controlled the niggling terror from creeping onto her face as she realized the caliber of psychopath she was in a standoff with.

"Forgive my intrusion." Areth said, failing miserably at keeping her tone cool. "I guess I just got bored, hogtied in that room all by myself. If you'll forgive my saying so, that isn't a very host-ly thing to do, you bloated piece of shit."

Vaughn licked his lips, and the very motion sent shivers down her spine. He strolled leisurely towards her, a bemused expression on his pointed features.

"Then I apologize. I never meant to be anything but hospitable. Especially to a guest I hold in such high…" Vaughn seemed to be mulling something over, grazing a finger against her ear. "Esteem."

Areth felt bile rise in her throat. She slapped his hand away and spat square in the noble's washed-out face. Vaughn wiped the blood and spittle off his face, clearly attempting to maintain his own veneer of calm. Smiling disingenuously at her, he threw his arms wide.

"Is this all about the wedding? I'm sorry I interrupted, but all you little knife-eared women look so good dressed up. How could I resist?" He rasped, his eyes suddenly darkening. "After all, you little things are my property."

Areth's fists were clenched so hard, she felt her nails draw blood from her palms.

"Fuck you, you son of a bitch."

Vaughn made a speculative noise from the back of his throat.

"You know, I'm getting a little tired of you playing coy." He said, smiling in a way that made Areth queasy. Before she could register what was happening, Vaughn backhanded her across the face, nearly knocking her out as her head smacked the cobblestone floor with enough force to make her world go dark for a few seconds. In her brief daze, she realized how much being blind would suck. As she came to, she fumbled for the blade at her hip.

"Now, now, pet." Vaughn cooed from above her. "I'm just trying to have a little fun."

He punctuated the last word with a swift kick to her gut. Yelping, Areth reflexively curled into a ball on the ground. Laughing, Vaughn gripped Areth by her hair and yanked her head off the ground. His breath fell heavily on her ear, hot and rancid.

"Why won't you give me a kiss?" He snarled, twisting her neck violently so that she was facing him. Mustering every inch of strength in her petite frame, Areth brought her fist up between the two of them to land an uppercut neatly on his chin. She heard a cracking sound that she assumed could only have been his teeth and scrambled to her grab her dirk from where it had clattered to the ground. She heard someone drop behind her, with a grunt that definitely did not belong to Soris. Coiling back around faster than a snake, Areth bellowed as loud as her little lungs would let her and plunged the blade deep into the junction of the noble's neck and shoulder. The look of shock on the man's face mingled with disgust and hatred as he coughed and sputtered, his eyes rapidly growing dim.

"You knife-eared whore." He wheezed, thin trails of blood streaming from his lips. "Your people... will burn for this." Vaughn managed to sneer smugly at her.

Areth yanked him closer to her by the blade in his neck, earning an undignified whimper from the dying man. "My people have been burning. But, the thing is, we can only burn for so long before we explode, shem. It's a god damn powder keg that you useless ingrates have been sitting on without even realizing it."

Vaughn's lip curled as he began to respond, but was curtailed by a swift twist of the blade in his neck. With a thump, the man crumpled to the floor with eyes wide open. Areth stared at the man impassively.

"Good." She thought. "One less of you to worry about."

"Cousin." Came Soris's voice from behind her, jarring the heavy silence that blanketed the room. She turned to look at him with a relieved sigh, finally snapping back to the moment. Nodding, he pointed to the woman on the bed with a pained expression. Shianni's eyes were fixed on Vaughn's corpse, though they were entirely hollowed out. Devoid of anything at all. Areth edged toward her cousin gingerly.

"Shianni..." Areth started quietly. The redheaded elf suddenly met her gaze. Areth felt a nervous lump form in her throat. "I am so so sorry we didn't get here sooner." Her hands shook as she sheathed her dagger and knelt down in front of the bed. "If... If I could, I'd bring him back to life just to kill him again."

Shianni shook her head slowly, like she was waking up from a dream.

"Let's just go home." She whispered.

Areth noticed there were tears in her oldest cousin's eyes, that she just wouldn't let fall. Areth sighed and gestured to Soris. As they helped Shianni up from the bed, she mouthed to Soris "Let's fucking go" and gently shifted Shianni into Soris's arms. Soris sighed and lifted his sister, holding her close to his chest as quiet sobs began to wrack her entire body.

"We're still on the ground floor." He explained quietly, looking towards a grimy window. "Looks relatively clear, but we're going to have to make a break for it anyway. Hopefully, nobody spots us."

She nodded and opened the window for Soris. He slipped out and quietly ran across the grounds, making it look easy even carrying a fully grown woman. Following her cousin, she paused as she straddled the window frame. Casting one last look around the room, she knew she was right. Things were ready to explode.

She already had.

Areth wished she could say it felt better to be home, after all that.

It did not.

The Alienage was silent as the grave when they had returned. Nobody wanted to be around when the guards inevitably showed up. Areth could hardly blame them, even if she wished they'd shown a bit more of a backbone.

She was more than likely to have hers removed by nightfall. Perhaps literally. The guards at Fort Drakon had a reputation for enjoying more offbeat torture techniques.

She really had tried to not think about it.

Upon their arrival home, Areth and Soris had left Shianni in the care of Areth's father, Cyrion. He was more of a mess than Shianni was, definitely the crier of the family. It was always something she liked about her dad. They managed to wash away some of the bloodstains and change into new clothes, then, with churning trepidation, they sought out the Elder, Valendrian. He had practically paced a rut in the ground around the Vhenadahl by the time they got there, and upon seeing them, promptly cuffed them both around the head.

"Why?!" Soris yelped, flinching more than usual at his typical rebuke. Valendrian instead leveled his eyes on Areth.

"You're lucky your mother isn't here." He glowered. "I'm not sure you would have ever recovered from the thumping she would give you right now, girl."

Areth gritted her teeth..

"Lucky me the guards are here, since she couldn't make it."

Valendrian ignored her, watching the two young elves as he rocked back onto his heels. Then, tilting his head back, he stared at the branches of the Vhenadahl, the last rays of sun setting a pink hue to his weathered face.

"How did everything manage to go so wrong, so fast?" He finally sighed. Areth chewed at her lip.

"Were you ever under the illusion that Soris and I getting married on the same day would end well?" She quipped, only halfway in jest. Valendrian laughed wearily at that, and she earned a small smirk from Soris.

"A valid point." Valendrian chuckled. His eyes were more tired than Areth had ever seen them. Suddenly, his mouth set into a hard line. "You both did the right thing today."

Areth was surprised at the admission. She opened her mouth to speak, but Valendrian held up a weathered hand to stop her.

"Insufferably foolish, and incredibly naïve, but right." He continued. "Whatever consequences arise from this, know that there was nothing else you rightfully could have done."

"Talk about a fuckin' rock and a hard place." Areth mumbled, not meeting Valendrian's eyes.

"Language, Areth." The old elf scolded in a voice that sounded like home.

"We'll go quietly when the guards come, Elder." Soris suddenly spoke up, staring pointedly ahead at nothing in particular. He looked hopeless and defeated, an entirely different elf than the one she recognized as her cousin. Sure, Soris was a bit of a 'fraidy cat, but he wasn't one to take injustice lying down, either. It made Areth bristle. There was no way the humans were going to break both of her cousins in one day. She turned to the elder, her voice choked by anger.

"No." She growled, steeling herself. "They won't have the satisfaction of taking two of us. If they're going to take anyone, let it be me."

Soris looked equal parts stunned and indignant. "Cousin, you know I won't let that happen."

Areth rolled her eyes. "Someone needs to stay with Shianni. You need to protect her, at least until she's feeling up to smashing bottles over people's heads again. My dad can't deal with that on his own. And, last I recall, you still had a blushing bride waiting for you at my dad's house."

Her own betrothed, Nelaros, hadn't made it through the fighting. He was dead before Soris had even managed to free her. It was a shame, Areth supposed, but she couldn't bring herself to grieve over it.

It wasn't that Nelaros wasn't a good man. He was very kind, and as good looking as they come, if not a little bit boring. In the Alienage, it was the ideal situation. Invariably, today's events mucked that up for good measure. If she wasn't facing an inevitably gruesome death and the crushing guilt of being completely inept at rescuing people in time, she would have welcomed the intervention. A less fatal and violent one, but a tiny part of her was relieved. She fiercely dreaded the quiet, uneventful life of growing old in the Alienage that had been ahead of her. As things were, she just felt like throwing up onto her boots.

"Besides," She continued before Soris could interrupt. "can you imagine the looks on the guardsmen's faces when they see one elf girl taking responsibility for all of that?"

Soris laughed nervously. "The funny thing is, you probably could have, all on your own." He paused, carefully studying his cousin's face. "You know, the busted nose kind of makes you look good. In a rather intimidating way."

Areth grasped the crossbow strap from Soris's shoulder and hefted it over hers. No point in being noble and taking the blame if Soris was still holding a murder weapon. She smirked.

"If I make it past tonight, I'm sure I'll have all the other inmates cowering in fear."

Soris's face fell. "Don't say things like that. You're going to be just fine." His fists clenched at his sides. "I don't know how, but this isn't the end for you, cousin. It can't be."

Valendrian, who had remained silent for this stretch of the conversation, finally spoke up with a sigh.

"I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but wait here."

With that, he strode off across the square towards his own house, walking faster than Areth could ever remember. The bustle in his step was something she recalled fondly from her childhood, when Valendrian was still just their neighbor and not their Elder.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Areth called sardonically, leaning back against the Vhenadahl. "Wonder what that's all about."

Soris's brow furrowed. "I don't know, but I've never known the Elder to not have a plan. However half-baked it might be."

Areth clucked her tongue. "Half-baked won't cut it today, I'm afraid. Half-baked is what landed us here."

Soris nodded, his expression unreadable. "Only fully-baked plans from here on out, then."

They lapsed into silence then, both losing themselves in their own little world. Areth's eyes swept around the Alienage, trying to absorb every detail she hadn't before, like the way the wind whistled as it passed between the squat shanties the elves lived in. Or the way spongy moss grew from between the cobblestones in the square. Or the sweet smell of the early fall leaves on the Vhenadahl, as they rattled on their branches. Areth remembered scampering around this tree whenever she and her cousins were younger. She remembered the way the sun set, casting everything in a orange and pink hue, and their hovel looked stunning. At least for those few minutes every day. After the sun set, she could remember hearing her mother's voice among all the other parents calling for their children to come home to dinner.

Areth twirled the dirk in her hands a few times. Its weight was comfortable.

While the other kids were all eating their meager dinners with their families, Areth had something else to do first. She and her mother were always able to be found in the back alley behind their home, every evening, practicing with blades. Sparring. Learning disarming techniques. Areth's mother, Adaia, had been a proud and shrewd warrior. Areth could recall the sound of her raspy voice berating her when her form was a mess, and praising her when she actually managed a technique right. She could almost smell her mother's meticulously-oiled leather boots, and the earthy scent of her hair. A quiet sadness settled on her in a way that kind of felt like she was suffocating. She never had the chance to thank her mother for what she taught her, and it had saved her life more than a few times.

Ah, well, she'd get the chance soon enough.

Movement across the square caught her eye. Expecting it to be Valendrian returning with whatever plan he'd concocted, Areth's blood ran cold. The guard-captain of Denerim was crossing the courtyard with a full company of soldiers. Areth glanced at her cousin in a manner he was very familiar with. It was her trademark "You shut up, I'll do the talking" look. Clearing her throat, she stood up straight, yet kept a casual stance, and faced the guard-captain.

"What can I help you with tonight, gentlemen?" Areth said, keeping her tone light and casual. The trick with the guards was to not let them know you were afraid. Otherwise, it was like a pack of wolves cornering a frightened rabbit. The guard-captain stared at her in contempt.

"You know damn well what this is about, elf." He snapped. "The Arl of Denerim's son is dead and his personal guard are all shredded to sodding ribbons or human pincushions. I need names, and I need them now."

Areth allowed her brow to furrow. "How do you know who you're looking for is here? Or if they're an elf at all?"

The guard-captain sized her up, puffing his chest out. Areth pursed her lips.

"Several witnesses spotted an elf lass with a crooked nose making a break for the east wall, covered in blood. I'd say that's an apt description of you, though you've had the good sense to at least clean up most of the blood." He replied, letting his hand come to rest on the hilt of his blade. "Now, who helped you?"

Areth put her hands up. "Well, your sleuthing skills certainly are sharp, but not sharp enough. No accomplices. Just little old me."

The guard-captain threw a disparaging glance at Soris. "You're sure about that, are you?"

Areth flared her nostrils, her expression hardening suddenly. "Didn't you hear me? Or do I need to write it down for you?"

"You'd best work that attitude out before we reach the Fort, elf." He sniffed, gesturing to one of his men, who stepped forward with a set of manacles. "I do admire the courage you must possess to step forward and take responsibility for this, but I do not envy your fate."

Areth offered her wrists, taking deep breaths, trying to quell the wave of panic that was beginning to bubble from inside. To no avail. Beads of sweat were forming at her temples, and her hands were growing clammy. There was no justice in this. She would die, without so much as an acknowledgment that what she had done was to stop her own victim's body count from rising. Entirely because her ears were pointed.

Areth wondered, briefly, if it was better for an elf to die having done something than live having done nothing but roll over and accept their lot. It certainly didn't feel better. She screwed her eyes shut and waited for the weight of the manacles to be placed upon her wrists.

It never came.

"A word, guard-captain." Said an unfamiliar voice. It was deep, and somehow comforting, but held a focused poise in its enunciation. Opening her eyes, Areth examined this strange man with interest. His tanned skin and obsidian hair spoke of some foreign descent, and he wore two handsome swords strapped to his back. As he guided the guard-captain a few meters away to converse in hushed tones, Areth noticed how he towered over the plate-clad man, in a rather imposing way. Whatever this shem wanted, his stature alone was probably enough to get it for him. Areth looked behind her to Valendrian quizzically.

"An old friend." The Elder informed her. That didn't exactly set her at ease, but Areth nodded slowly anyway, watching the stranger.

"Absolutely not, do you have any idea the riot we'll have on our hands?!" The guard-captain's voice had wheedled to the pitch and volume of a man who had already been defeated, despite his protests. The dark shem continued to speak in hushed, and what Areth assumed were probably placating, tones. She noted with some interest that he used his hands a lot when he talked.

It was at that moment the guard-captain stalked away, gesturing angrily at his men to leave the Alienage. Areth watched them go, mouth agape. In what was probably the least grateful moment of her life, she whirled to the strange man, jaw still slack, and pointed at the retreating guards.

"How'dya manage that?!"

The man regarded her with a raised brow. Before he could speak, Valendrian cleared his throat.

"Areth, this is Duncan, commander of the Grey Wardens in Ferelden."

Her agape mouth formed an "O", then she shook her head and managed a smile.

"Thanks, then." She said, putting a sound effort into seeming sincere. As desperately as she had been hoping she wouldn't be tortured and left for dead, she didn't really need a shem treating her like a charity case either. From what she heard, the Wardens were notorious do-gooders. Duncan watched her with a faint smile.

"A pleasure." Duncan said mildly, turning his gaze to Valendrian expectantly. Valendrian pursed his lips and motioned for Soris to leave. Areth nodded at her cousin, which was all he needed to hurry back to her house, nearly tripping over his own feet in the process. Areth folded her arms.

"Duncan came here for a reason, my child." Valendrian began. "You see, with a new Blight, the Wardens are in need of some new recruits."

Areth nodded. "Well that's good. Can't fight a Blight without a few Wardens, so I've been told." She began to turn on her heel to follow Soris. "Best of luck with that!"

A firm hand on her elbow yanked her unceremoniously back. She noted with a tickle of irritation that Duncan seemed mildly amused with her.

"He found a recruit, Areth." Valendrian said sternly. It was as if she was nine years old again. Areth nodded, her eyebrows raised.

"Good for him, then."

Duncan spoke up, his voice gentle and authoritative. "You show a lot of promise, Areth. A lot of the same promise I saw in your mother."

Areth's ears visibly perked up at that. "You knew my mother?"

Valendrian sighed. "I'm sorry, Duncan. For all her aptitude with sharp objects, you sometimes have to speak slowly to this one."

Duncan chuckled. "I did. Adaia was a fine warrior. I see those talents did not go to waste." Setting his mouth into a thin line, he continued. "I am under the impression that you possess significant combat skill and apparently enough determination to dispatch a score of men singlehandedly."

Areth shrugged. "Soris helped plenty, and I-"She cut off when Duncan raised his hand.

"I have evaluated your abilities and surmised that they would aid the Wardens greatly in combating the Blight." He said in a business-like tone. Areth let out a low whistle, rocking back onto her heels.

"Wow. I'm flattered, I am." She said, nodding congenially. "But I'm afraid I'll have to pass. I do appreciate that, though."

Duncan's eyes suddenly chilled, Areth's spine along with them.

"You really do not have much of a choice, Areth. I invoked the Right of Conscription when I was speaking with Guard-Captain MacMahon." Duncan's voice was unwavering. "The Wardens possess the right to enlist anyone they see fit in service. With a new Blight beginning in the south, recruits are valued now more than ever. The enlisted do not have a choice in the matter, I'm afraid."

Areth's ears pinned back to her head, on pure primal instinct. She looked to Valendrian, who nodded solemnly.

"It is the only option you have, my child. Your fate was sealed the moment your blade spilled human blood."

Suddenly, Areth was taken by a powerful urge to retch. Duncan's face was unreadable, but she saw a glint of something in his eye. It almost seemed apologetic. For a long few moments, Areth was speechless. How fickle a thing was freedom that she had woken up with it in the morning and before sundown, she was powerless to the whims of others? She dodged death in the Arl's estate and imprisonment at Fort Drakon only to land herself in forced service to an organization she knew next to nothing about.

Her eyes swept around the Alienage, its walls impassive and towering on all sides. Perhaps freedom had been an illusion the whole time. The thought only made the bile churn harder in her stomach. Finding her voice, she looked down at the familiar moss that poked through the cobblestones, brushing her boot against it.

"When… are we leaving?"

Duncan's tone was immobile as the earth itself.

"Immediately."

Annnnnnd there's chapter one! Any thoughts, reviews, or constructive criticism would be wildly appreciated. See you guys for chapter two!