Author's Note: I've started and restarted this story over and over again. I feel like it's finally ready to be shared with the rest of the world.
I don't own anything Dragon Age.
Chapter One
The sun had risen high in the sky when Laina had spotted two armored figures approaching the small house she and her mother shared in the Denerim Alienage. They walked as if burdened with a significant weight only known to them. As they drew closer she could make out the grim expressions on their faces.
Her heart sank. She knew they would come.
Her mother's arms wrapped tighter around her small body with each step the templars took. Tears formed and threatened to spill over onto her cheeks. She looked up to her mother who attempted a smile despite the tears streaming down her face.
"You have to be brave, little one. It will all be okay." She kissed Laina's forehead and stroked her hair.
Laina squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into her mother's clothes. They smelled of strawberries and mint.
A knock at the door made them both flinch as if shocked by lightning. For a long moment her mother just held her there in the middle of the room. A sob escaped her mother's lips as a second more demanding knock sounded at the door. Slowly, she carried Laina to the door, and opened it.
The instant the door was open Laina knew there was something wrong.
Before the templars had looked like ordinary men standing tall with a foreboding presence. The two figures standing in the doorway were now hunched over, misshapen, and grotesque. Their skin had turned crimson and bubbled up as if they stewed on the inside. What had once been hands had become long eagle-like talons with black claws as long as Laina's small body. Perhaps the most horrifying feature of all were the eyes. Hollowed out sockets of pure blackness stared down at her with a deep hunger.
She sank back into the protection of her mother's embrace only to realize the arms wrapped around her had taken on the same disfigured form as the men. She tried to scream, but no sound came. When she tried to escape the demon only held her tighter. Fear paralyzed her and her eyes widened in fear as the demons slinked closer to her.
One of the abominations smiled down at her revealing razor sharp teeth. "Come to usss..." he hissed. "Come to usss..." A Clawed hand reached out to touch her.
A blood curdling scream erupted from Laina's lips as she was thrown from her nightmare and into consciousness.
She sat straight up in her bunk breathing heavily clutching her chest to keep her heart from bursting out of her body. Her breaths came out in ragged gasps. The darkness surrounding her did nothing to calm her nerves.
It was just a dream, she thought to herself, but she knew it was so much more than that.
"Andraste's knickers, Laina." She heard the sound of someone moving in their bunk, the rustle of paper, and finally the thump as a book hit her square in the temple. "Would it kill you to let the rest of us sleep?"
Laina grimaced while rubbing the budding lump on her head, but remained silent. She did not wish to incur the wrath of more books. Or worse.
She settled back down into her bed and pulled the covers up to her chin. Through the darkness she thought she could see shadows moving within. Just the slightest sound sent her mind into a frenzy. She sat up in her bunk; her body tense with anticipation.
It's all in your head, she told herself, though nothing seemed to calm her. She pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms protectively around them, and waited for the dawn to come.