Summary: Kallian Tabris always hated humans, and with good reason; They'd taken everything she'd ever loved. Now she's forced to join them in a grand battle to save Ferelden, and she doesn't like it one bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragon Age: Origins. So if you have any requests about a possible sequel, don't ask me.

Author's note: I was always a bit disappointed with the fact that you could never really make a human-hating elf. There were some lines in the beginning, but after that: Nothing. I was bored, so I decided, why not? And wrote this up. Sorry if it sucks.

It had been nearly a full week since they'd left for Ostagar. Duncan had managed to arrange transport for them, slicing at least a few days worth of travel away. Kallian wasn't happy about it.

She realized by now that there was no getting off this boat; she would become a Grey Warden, whether she wanted it or not. Duncan had made that quite clear when he'd thrown her over his shoulder and dumped her in a carriage, telling her her life as she knew it was over now. She still hated him for it, but hatred wasn't going to help her face what was to come. Travelling with one human had been hard, but working with a whole pack of them? A day ago, she'd finally opened her mouth for the first time since they'd left Denerim, asking him if there were many humans in Ostagar. The answer had hit her pretty hard; 'Yes, the majority of the people there are human.'

He'd attempted to ease her mind by mentioning the groups of elves and dwarves that also took up residence in the old ruin, and how the humans there were civilized, but she knew better. She wondered if she'd see some of her old friends here, the ones that had been forced out of their houses and forced into slavery for these humans.

After climbing another hill, they reached a large bridge, beyond it lay Ostagar; The sights were amazing, but somehow, Kallian couldn't enjoy it. She'd always wanted to leave the Alienage, but now that she was out here, so out in the open, without the sense of security her people gave her, she wanted nothing more than to go back. Regardless of whatever punishment awaited her back in Denerim.

She could vaguely hear Duncan mention Grey Wardens, but she was too absentminded to answer, and instead just looked around, contemplating the thought of escaping. If she just turned and ran now, could he keep up with her? He was getting quite old, after all.

"There are only a few Grey Wardens in Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here, and..." he glanced over at his companion and sighed, realizing he was wasting his breath. He'd dealt with difficult recruits before, but none of them had been as spiteful and resistant as this one. He'd expected at least some coöperation from her part, when he saved her from quite possibly a death sentence, but no. Not even a thank you. Not that he had really expected one, after what he'd seen of her before, but still... he hadn't expected her to be this difficult, especially after spending a whole week together.

One moment she was walking next to him, the next, she suddenly disappeared out of the corner of his eye. He blinked and turned around, only to see the young elf darting off in the other direction. "What in Andraste's name..." he was flabbergasted as he took up his pace and ran after her. This had never happened before. He'd been insulted, attacked, ignored, and all sorts of other things, but never in his many years as a recruiter had a candidate actually fled.

Of course, the young city elf had sorely underestimated this man's stamina, and before she even reached the end of the bridge, he'd caught up with her, roughly grabbing her wrist in an attempt to stop her. "Let go of me human! You have no right!" she yanked hard on her wrist, but only managed to hurt herself. These arms weren't made for this sort of workout.

"I'll drag you in there kicking and screaming if I have to," he stared deeply into her eyes, "What do you think would become of you out there, by yourself?"

Kallian frowned and looked down at her shoes, "You don't care about me, you just don't wanna lose one of your little meatshields!" Another pull, and another fail. Her wrist was really starting to hurt now. Duncan knew it too, but it was too risky to release her.

"If your only purpose was to be a meatshield, do you really think I would've put up with your behavior this long?" his voice made her jump slightly, in these empty ruins, it sounded even louder. "Ferelden needs Grey Wardens, I truly believe you have what it takes to be one." he tightened his grip, "That is, if you'll stop acting like a child, and accept your responsibilities."

"What do I care about your opinion. Call me a child! I've been called worse!" she gritted her teeth and kicked his shin, regretting her action as soon as her foot hit the metal. "Ow!"

Duncan sighed desperately, "You need to learn that not the whole world is out to get you."

The mood grew darker and more aggressive with each passing moment, "No? All of your people are the same! They have no regard for anyone other than themselves! Not even you! Did you even consider my feelings when you forced me to come with you? You are even worse than the others! At least the others don't pretend to be good people, you filthy shem!"

"You would've died if you'd stayed there!"

"Like that would've been such a huge step down from the cesspool we are forced to live in!" she spat angrily, finally having the strenth to pull herself away from his grasp. She stared darkly at him as she massaged her wrist. "You could never understand..."

Duncan frowned, for he knew what she said was the truth. He'd never understand what it would be like to live as an elf in an Alienage. He'd never understand the feeling of being treated like a whore by men like Vaughan, he'd never understand the constant fear these people lived in. Assuming he could was an insult to them all.

He opened his mouth to apologize, but quickly decided against it. He wasn't her enemy, and apologizing would suggest he had something to apologize for. Which he didn't. He hadn't been the one to torment her for so long.

"Ho there Duncan!"

Duncan blinked a few times in surprise, his body moving on auto-pilot as he shook the young king's hand as he approached, "King Cailan! I... had not expected-"

"A royal welcome? You know I always treat my most honored guests with the respect they deserve." he said with a bright smile, making him seem even younger than he was.

"You are too kind, your majesty."

Cailan shook his head, "Always with the formalities... I've told you; call me Cailan. We'll be shedding blood together, after all. Though, for a moment I was worried you would miss all the fun."

"Not if I could help it your majesty." Duncan said with an even voice, ignoring Cailan's sigh at the 'your majesty' part. Perhaps Cailan didn't think too much of titles, but Duncan would never be accused of disrespecting his king.

"Glad to hear it, the other Wardens mentioned you'd found a promising recruit, I take it this is she?" he glanced over at the elf by Duncan's side, who seemed to glare angrily at him, "Ho there friend! Might I ask your name?"

Kallian snorted, "I am no friend of yours, human..." Duncan poked her with his elbow, shaking his head as a warning.

"Well... I see you've brought a lively one this time! And here I thought you were all polite old men." Cailan laughed, although he was taken a little aback by the incredible amount of rudeness thrown at him in a single sentence.

"I wouldn't be here if I had a choice..." she muttered under her breath, earning herself another annoyed look from Duncan. Luckily, Cailan hadn't heard a thing.

"Tell me, where are you from?" he asked again, starting over, hoping this time she would respond differently.

Kallian crossed her arms and looked away, "What do you think? One of your Alienages, naturally..." Duncan rubbed his temples, silently begging the Maker Cailan would just go. Dealing with her on his own was difficult enough, keeping her in line while speaking to others was a lot harder, especially since she didn't seem to care about Cailan being her king.

"I see... what's it like there?" Cailan had always been curious about what went on within his lands, but of course, as a king, you couldn't just go out and visit everywhere you wanted. He had responsibilities, after all.

Kallian smiled brightly, and for a moment, Cailan thought she would tell him a happy story. "Well, where to start! Perhaps I should start by mentioning my mother's timely death at the hands of your guards!" she chirped, waving her arms around as though she was telling a grant story, "Or perhaps something more recent, such as the Arl's son group-raping my cousin!" Cailan's mouth dropped open as she spoke, "I should probably also mention that when you return to your fancy palace in Denerim, you'll have some pretty nasty bloodstains to remove. And I think his ear shot off somewhere underneath the bed, might wanna have that checked out before having company over, know what I'm saying?" she winked sweetly at him.

"W-What...?" he looked over at Duncan, who merely rubbed his temples in despair, "A-Are you serious?"

"Which part? The part where your guards all turned a blind eye as my cousin was brutally raped, or the part where I repainted your walls with royal blood? Either way, it's all true." she leaned back on one leg staring the obviously naïve king down, "There's more, though I doubt your fragile little mind can handle it..."

"That's enough!" Duncan stepped between the two, "This is your king you're speaking to, and you will show him some respect!"

She tiptoed to stare into his eyes, "Or else what?" she hissed daringly.

"No, it's alright Duncan..." Cailan still seemed somewhat in shock as he spoke, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I assure you, I didn't know any of this..." he sighed as he walked back to his guards before turning again, "I promise you, once I get back to Denerim, things will change."

"You'll forgive me if I don't hold my breath." after all, she hadn't met a single human who'd actually kept his word.

"Now..." Cailan started awkwardly, "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I need to return before Loghain sends a search party. Duncan, could you meet me by my tent later? There is much we need to discuss."

"Certainly, your majesty." Duncan bowed his head politely as the young king nodded quickly before hurrying off with his entourage, Kallian merely crossed her arms and stared at the man's retreating back, feeling no desire to bow before him.

---

Compared to the morning, the rest of the day had been fairly uneventful. Duncan had gone about his business, ensuring all of his Grey Wardens were ready for the upcoming battle, checking supplies, preparing battle plans. The usual, really. Although this time, he was accompanied by an angry elf, which was far from common. Normally, Duncan allowed his recruits to walk around the camp freely, exploring or relaxing as they saw fit, so long as they didn't leave the camp, they could do as they wished. But he realized after the morning that he couldn't quite trust this recruit to keep that one simple promise. She'd be up and out of that gate before he could even cross the bridge. No, this one had to be watched.

He had noticed a change in her behavior however, as the hours passed by. At first, she'd been extremely defiant, ensuring him that as soon as his back was turned, she'd make a run for it. But as soon as they had actually entered the camp, she'd fallen quiet. Soundlessly, she followed him around, unwilling to look anyone in the eye, even as some of them greeted her. At first he thought it was more rude behavior, but it began to dawn down on him now; She was scared.

Her entire life she'd been told to avoid humans, to hide whenever she saw them, to not look them in the eye, or otherwise draw their attention. She'd been taught to be invisible, taught how to survive, even within her own home. They'd all speak of it, the other elves. They'd all mention finding a girl's broken body after she'd been abducted for the night. They'd all mentioned the young man's scars, after he returned from his job as a servant. Humans were evil, humans were to be feared, and hated.

And now, here she was, among the people who had tormented her and her people her entire life. Here were the people from the horror tales, in large groups, all towering over her, staring at her as she walked past them. A part of him started to feel somewhat guilty for bringing her, it was obvious she wasn't ready for this. But the Blight wouldn't wait, and he needed all the warriors he could find, even those with troubled pasts had to put their feelings aside for the greater good.

That didn't stop his concern though, despite her behavior earlier, he didn't wish this feeling upon anyone. This fear, this anger.

"If I promise you to be a good girl, can I leave the camp?" she asked suddenly, crossing her arms over her chest and looking around cautiously, unconsiously taking a step closer to Duncan when she realized some soldiers were watching her.

Duncan stopped, thinking for a moment. She sounded sincere enough, but her elder had told him more than enough about her manipulative streak... somehow, he didn't think she'd run, but he couldn't be sure.

"You haven't given me much of a reason to trust you," he admitted as he crossed his arms, "You tried to run this morning, what's changed?"

"Nothing, I still don't want to be here." Kallian shifted nervously on the spot, she made a nice attempt at hiding her feelings, but this wasn't the first unwilling recruit Duncan had dealt with, and he'd seen so many faces, so many emotions, that it wasn't hard to tell what she was feeling right now. "But... I'll behave if you let me go, away from these shems," when she noticed the man giving her a sympathetic look, she stood up straight, "They are annoying, and they smell. I do not wish to be around them any longer than I have to."

The pair slowly turned as they heard two men argue, "I will not be harrassed in this manner!" the mage yelled angrily, waving his fist at the other man, "You can tell that witch that I'm on important business, for the Grey Wardens, I might add!"

The other man dramatically waved his arms, "Because delivering a message is so offensive! I am truly sorry Ser Mage, had I known!"

The mage turned to Duncan, his frown only deepening, "How do you expect me to work with all these distractions? Can't you keep your fools locked away somewhere before the battle?"

The young man quickly approached as well, clasping both his hands together and bowing slightly, "Truly Ser Mage, do forgive me... where are my manners. Allow me to rephrase: The Revered Mother wishes to see you, please?" he grinned innocently batting his eyelashes a few times for added effect.

The older man sighed desperately, "Enough... I'll speak to the woman, if I must."he turned to walk away again, roughly pushing himself past the young man, "Out of my way, fool."

Duncan shook his head, "Riling up mages again, are we Alistair?"

The man named Alistair smiled innocently, holding his hands up defensively, "Hey, don't look at me! I'm just the delivery boy! Don't hate on the staff!"

Duncan chuckled slightly as he patted the boy on the shoulders, it was obvious to anyone with functioning eyes that these two were at the very least close friends, Kallian hadn't seen Duncan interact like this with any of the other people in the camp, not even the other Wardens.

The lighthearted mood quickly became serious again as Duncan's laughter faded and was instead replaced with a kind, but serious look, "Do be careful Alistair, we're not popular as it is... we can't afford to anger more people with our presence," when he noticed Alistair frowning slightly, he spoke again, this time with a cheerier voice, "I'll tell the Revered Mother to leave you be as well."

"Now that would be an excellent plan!" Alistair laughed before his eyes landed on the petite elf at Duncan's side, "Oh, forgive me, I didn't see you there... you must be our newest recruit."

Kallian nodded quickly before looking up at Duncan again, "About leaving the camp..."

"That eager to get away, are you?" he laughed as he bent slightly to get a better look at her face, "Trust me, aside from the occasional playful nibbling, we don't actually bite."

"You may leave, on one condition," Duncan started, placing his hand on Alistair's shoulder, "Alistair accompanies you, this is not up for debate. Either you leave with Alistair, or you stay in the camp with me. It's your choice."

Kallian frowned and looked down at her shoes, softly biting her lip. Alistair awkwardly scratched his neck, "Well, you must've been a bad girl to be punished like this."

She glared up at him and then glanced over at Duncan, who's look seemed to have grown hard again. Arguing would be pointless, she decided. This man had heard all of her excuses before, and he really didn't seem like he would debate this issue with her. She wasn't sure whether she could trust this 'Alistair', but being around all these men, who hadn't seen a woman in months felt too awkward, too uncomfortable. She sighed softly, slowly nodding her head, "Fine... he can come."

"I can come?" Alistair repeated slowly as he arched his brow, "Yippie!"

Duncan sighed, and hoped he'd made the right decision by entrusting her to Alistair. The boy was too trusting for his own good, he prayed he wouldn't allow himself to be fooled by this woman.

"Very well then, Alistair, keep your eyes open," he slowly started walking again, glancing over his shoulder as he spoke, "And be careful, she's sneakier than she looks."

---

Kallian sighed in relief as she reached the other side of the bridge, happy to be away from the crowds. Of course, now she had to put up with Alistair following her around like a watchdog, but it was a vast improvement over the camp, where she was literally watched by everyone. She didn't like being watched, especially not by humans. Who knew what went on their head?

"So what did you do?" Alistair asked from behind her, "Usually Duncan allows new recruits to walk around freely, you must've done something pretty bad if he sends a nanny to watch over you."

Kallian shrugged, she really wasn't that eager to talk, "I tried to run." she told him simply, without elaborating.

"You tried to-" his sentence was cut off by a chuckle, "You tried to what? Are you serious?"

She spun around and narrowed her eyes, immediately causing him to shut up, "You find it funny that he dragged me from my house like a slave and forces me to be somewhere entirely against my will? Is that your idea of amusement?"

"No, no! Just that... the idea of you just turning around and making a run for it is funny... I mean, I don't find it funny that you are here against your will, or... that you felt the need to flee, just, you know!" he nervously ran a hand through his hair, "You... don't like me much, do you?"

Kallian slowly rolled her eyes, "Gee, however did you guess? Was it the quiet glare I've been giving you the past 20 minutes, or the scowl I give you whenever you open your mouth?"

"Actually, it was the inappropriate gestures you've been making with your hands." he said simply, seemingly unphased by her harsh words, "That's really not nice you know, you might hurt my feelings... and you don't want me to cry, do you?"

He was starting to annoy her more and more, the longer they spent together. Was he not taking her seriously at all?

"Go ahead and cry, in fact, throw yourself off this cliff while you're at it, see if I care." she huffed, sitting in the soft grass, pulling her legs to her chest.

Alistair sighed as he stepped past her, stretching his arms over his head, "You know... one good thing about the Blight is how it brings people together." he turned around and smiled sweetly, "We'll all stand in a circle and hold hands!" he said as he squeezed his eyes shut and grinned brightly, hugging himself.

Kallian groaned, letting herself fall backwards into the grass, bringing her palms up to her face.

This was going to be a long day.

Thank you for reading. I'm not sure whether this'll be a full-lenth story or a oneshot yet. Regardless of that, reviews are always appreciated! Sooo, feel free to leave one, if you wish?

Have a wonderful day!