Blood dripped down my arm as I stood over the body of my opponent. The roaring in my ears drowned out the exclamation from his apprentice.

"I suggest you leave now." I told the apprentice, who was looking at me with a mixture of shock and awe. "I'll send for you later."

She paled at my words, but had the audacity to respond. "Magister, there's the small matter of-"

"Leave!" I barked, feeling dizzy from my exertion and not trusting her not to knife me in my weakness.

I summoned a ball of flame in my hand to hurry her along, and she scampered out without further protest.

"Oh Maker," I groaned as I sank into a nearby chair. I had finally done it.

I had long envied Danarius's position as Senior Magister, and also his power in the Senate. I had spent years learning everything about him, how he fought, what spells he used, and how to defeat him. Finally, my day had come.

Repressing the longing to see my family, as I had done so successfully in the past, I rose to my feet, just in time to face the slave that entered the room.

There was a small scream as she saw Danarius's body on the ground, and I winced. His first move had been to throw me against a wall, and my head was aching.

"Your master is dead." I said simply. I didn't own slaves myself, so I wasn't sure how to handle this.

The slave dropped to her knees and bowed before me, which made me really uncomfortable. "Then we shall serve you, Mistress."

Right. I hadn't forgotten about the possession laws, but I had told myself I would deal with it if I won the duel, which I hadn't been entirely certain of in the first place. Now, I was cursing past me for being so lazy.

"Okay." I said, and then berated myself. 'Okay' is not something magisters say. "That is right. Please inform the rest of the household of the change and let them know that I'll meet everyone tomorrow. Also, if you could show me to any bed except the one he" I pointed at the corpse "slept in, I would appreciate it."

The slave girl nodded, and made her way to the staircase. We descended to the main corridor, and she pointed out an entire hallway full of rooms. "None of these have been used, Mistress. Shall I replace the covers for you? Would you like something to eat? Whatever you desire, you need only to command."

I yawned and entered the first room on the right. "This is fine. I'm too tired to eat anyways."

The slave girl bowed. "Very well. Is there anything else you require of me, serrah?"

I shook my head and went to sit on the bed. When I glanced over, she was still in the doorway.

"You're dismissed." I said, awkwardly. Was I going to have to say that fifty times a day?

She didn't move, but she took a deep breath. "Mistress, there is something-"

"Honestly, can it wait until tomorrow? I'm exhausted, and I'm unpleasant when I'm tired. I'll deal with everything tomorrow." I said, lying down on top of the covers.

The slave bowed. "Of course, serrah. I apologize to keeping you. Rest assured, everything will be ready for your perusal tomorrow."

"Shut the door behind you," I called.

The door shut, and I was left in blessed darkness. The last four years of my life had been preparing for this moment, and I was too worn out to enjoy it.

Bethany and my mother boarding the ship to leave Miranthous was an image burned into my mind by the betrayal and hurt that accompanied it. I knew I could do it, become something, but they didn't believe in me. Well, I didn't need them, as it turned out. I'm doing just fine for myself.

A little angry and unconvinced, I took off my apprentice robes, leaving only my undershirt and shorts to keep me modest.

As I curled up in the unfamiliar bed, I tried to imagine my new life. No longer would I have to listen to Magister Silivus order me to practice the spells I had already mastered. No longer would I have to ignore the abuse of the slaves he owned, which was distasteful, at best. And no longer would I have to kiss up to every magister, hoping to form a connection.

My new life had begun, and it was going to be great.

/-/-/-/-/

I heard a faint knocking sound, and I yawned and stretched myself awake.

"Come in." I said, slowly pulling on my robes.

The female slave from last night opened the door timidly. "Mistress?"

"Yes?" I answered, still unused to being called that.

The slave's gaze was on the ground. "We were just making sure you were okay, and hadn't had any visitors in the night."

"Yeah, I survived," I said with a laugh. "You didn't have to go and wake me up though."

The girl fell on her knees and I winced. That had been a joke. "I beg your pardon, mistress. We only worried, because it is so late in the day! I will accept whatever punishment you deem necessary, and will never rouse you from sleep again!"

I stood up, still stretching. "It's okay, it's okay. What time is it, anyway?"

"It is seven o'clock at night, mistress." She replied, still kneeling with her head down.

"SEVEN O'CLOCK?!" I exclaimed. I had literally slept the entire day away. The girl flinched at my outburst, and I mentally kicked myself for freaking her out. "It's a good thing you woke me up! Wow! This is not a good start to the day. Maker, I'm starving. Any chance there's some food left over from dinner?"

The girl looked at me in confusion. "Of course. The household would never presume to eat before you, mistress."

Great. I hadn't just wasted my day; I had starved my staff too. "Well, lead the way."

She rose to her feet, and I followed her down the hallway of MY new mansion. That was a weird thought.

The table was set for a feast, and the food was covered to conserve the heat.

"This hasn't been here since breakfast, has it?" I asked suspiciously, wondering how thrifty Danarius had been.

"Oh no, no!" the slave informed me. "Our chefs have been remaking the food every half hour, and are ready to remake it if you so desire."

Oh. Not thrifty, then. "That's unnecessary. Say, where is the staff? Danarius must have more than two slaves."

The slave girl (I really should have asked her name by now) nodded. "The rest of the slaves are waiting outside in the courtyard for your inspection."

Great. So I had starved my staff and also made them stand in the blazing heat for an entire day. This was a great first impression.

"Show me where they are," I ordered, suddenly not hungry. "But first, what's your name?"

"Wren, mistress." She replied.

"Oh, does that mean anything?" I asked, wondering if it was an old Arcanum term.

Wren frowned a bit. "I believe it's like the bird, mistress."

Oh. Of course.

I nodded, and followed Wren to the courtyard. The sun was setting, and I could see the relief on everyone's faces when I walked out. There were about ten house slaves, and ten guards, if the armor was anything to go by. They were all kneeling, and I hated myself for waking up so late.

After taking a deep breath, I felt ready to introduce myself.

"Hello, everyone. First of all, you can stand up now. If I had known you guys were waiting for me, I would have cut my session with the sloth demon a little short!"

My attempt at humor fell flat, but they did get to their feet. The cacophony of cracks from bones being released from tension made me wince.

"So, sorry about that. Anyway, as you've probably heard, I killed Danarius. I'm sorry if any of you were particularly attached to him, but, you know, politics."

The dead silence informed me that maybe they didn't actually know politics.

"I would just like to let you know that I'm not going to treat you harshly. I haven't owned slaves before, so I don't have the entitled outlook that I've seen so many others display. You guys are all people to me, and as long as none of you try to knife me in my sleep we won't have any problems. So, feel free to resume your normal duties. Also, dig in to the food on the table. I couldn't eat that much in a week, and I don't want it to be wasted. And that's an order!" I laughed to let them know the order part was a joke, but again, there was no response as they all stood up and filed into the house. Ho hum.

"Wren?" I called after her as she made her way indoors with the rest of them.

"Yes mistress?" She asked, hands folded behind her back, looking at my shoulder to display attentiveness.

"Didn't Danarius have a bodyguard? An elf with glowing tattoos?" I thought I remembered him, but he was nowhere to be found.

Wren nodded. "Yes, mistress. But he's currently in the dungeons. Danarius was punishing him."

"What?!" I yelped. I had almost been here a full day and no one mentioned the man in the dungeons?!

A little voice in my head reminded me that both Hadriana and Wren had tried to tell me something, but I hadn't listened.

"Take me to him, please." I said, groaning internally. Here's another apology I have to make.

Wren led the way, and I saw that the table had already been picked clean and the dishes were put away.

"What's his name?" I asked her.

"Fenris, mistress." she responded as she opened the heavy iron-wrought door that led to the basements.

/-/-/-/-/

Fenris heard the sound of the door opening, and he looked up, hoping it was the last round of his punishment.

It had all gone so wrong.

"Kill him in his sleep," Danarius had ordered, referring to a Senator in a nearby mansion. "Do I even need to say don't be detected?"

He hadn't. This wasn't the first, or even the twentieth time Danarius had sent him to assassinate someone, nor did he suspect it would be the last.

Fenris left through the window, leaving his sword behind. He phased through Danarius's fence, ignoring the agony that came along with becoming incorporeal.

Quickly dousing his illumination, he had taken back alleyways and narrow streets until he saw his target's house. Phasing through the wall was child's play, and he climbed onto the roof. Danarius hadn't told him where the room was, but magisters always sleep on the highest part of the house, and his markings could sense strong sources of magic.

Sure enough, as he approached the west wing, his tattoos began to tingle. Passing through the roof was tempting, but the thud of him hitting the ground usually alerted the target and made the kill... messy.

So, he strolled over to where the window usually was, facing the East. Exactly two steps away from the edge of the roof (this seemed so important, somehow) his right foot hit the ground, and an instant later was caught in a magically-concealed bear trap, which was welded to the rooftop. Not only that, but a loud shrieking started around him, and it wasn't his own.

After the first wave of agony radiated from his broken fibula and tibula, he had the presence of mind to phase out of the trap's clutches. Suddenly, it wasn't about assassination, it was about escaping before he was caught, tortured, and then killed, or worse, returned to Danarius.

Fenris had no idea how he managed to walk on his mangled leg, but he suspected fear and adrenaline had large parts in it.

Just as he made it to the ground, he heard a voice shout from the roof "He's escaped! Search the grounds!"

With a final spurt of effort, Fenris threw himself through the fence and down a narrow street, hoping against hope that he could make it to Danarius's before the dogs caught up with him.

He phased himself through a wall, into an abandoned house, where he slid to the ground, clutching his butchered limb. It was gushing blood, and he was feeling faint from the loss of it.

Drawing strength from his markings and fear of his punishment, Fenris slowly dragged himself to Danarius's mansion.

Barely strong enough to walk, much less climb, he just phased himself through a wall that led to the main foray.

One of Danarius's guards saw him, and ran to get Danarius.

His master rushed down, and Fenris couldn't keep him in focus, due to his failing vision.

He was only strong enough to shake his head no when his master asked him if the job was done, before he blacked out in a haze of red.

When he awoke, it was to find that he was now hanging from the ceiling by chains, chains he could easily phase out of but didn't dare to try.

Then he realized his master was standing in front of him, and he lowered his gaze to the floor. Do not speak unless spoken to.

"You failed." Danarius's voice was like ice, and it sent a shiver down Fenris's spine.

He noticed that his leg had stopped bleeding, but wasn't by any means healed.

Danarius started to circle around the hanging form. "Tell me, of what use is an assassin that cannot kill its targets?" A pause. "That was a question, Fenris." There was a crack, and Fenris felt the sting of a whip across his back.

"None, master," Fenris answered. "I'm so sorry to have failed you! There was a hidden trap on the-"

A second crack of the whip across his back silenced him. "I didn't ask to hear your excuses. I wanted a certain message sent before a crucial vote, and instead had my opponent galvanized and confident enough to sweep the vote in his favor."

Another crack.

"I'm sorry, master," Fenris said, trying not to scream as the blood started pooling in his destroyed leg. "please-"

Crack.

"You have a lot to atone for, little wolf. And rest assured, you will make reparations for your mistake."

Then, Danarius started whipping him in earnest, and Fenris couldn't contain his screams as Danarius eventually resorted to more hands-on methods.

When his master left, he looked back at Fenris's bleeding, broken frame and said "We'll continue this tomorrow." and strolled out without another word.

Fenris's vision was going spotty, and he could no longer stand, wincing when all of his weight fell on his wrists. His final thought before closing consciousness was the dread of what tomorrow would bring.

'Tomorrow' brought more pain, and the day after that, and the day after that. Danarius came to punish him in the mornings and at night for three straight days. It was also three straight days without food, and when his stomach growled loudly enough for Danarius to hear it, Danarius accused him of not being remorseful enough, and promised to make his next punishment the worst one yet.

So when the door opened this time, Fenris had no small amount of dread. Danarius hadn't visited him yesterday or today, and that certainly meant this would be unimaginably painful for the slave.

However, when he saw the female mage approach with the house slave, he was confused. Danarius had him service other magisters, and Danarius himself when the mood struck. But that wasn't considered punishment, it was just expected. What hidden twist would make this a punishment to end all punishments?

"Oh, Maker!" He heard the newcomer exclaim, but not in an excited way. His shirt had been long since ripped away, and his pants were barely held up by his thin rope belt. "What is happening here?"

He didn't know if he was to explain, but the other slave answered before he could.

"Danarius was punishing him for failing a mission." The slave answered.

Fenris inhaled sharply. Slaves didn't use their masters' names. To do so was practically defiance, punishable by death.

But the magister didn't react to the egregious breach of protocol. "I can't believe he's alive!"

"Fenris has dealt with such pain before, mistress."

Not really, Fenris thought to himself, before the last word registered with him. MISTRESS? That must mean Danarius is-

"Quickly, go tell the cooks to make a thin broth. Nothing too heavy, we don't know how his stomach will handle it. Bring it to wherever he sleeps. Hurry!" the mage ordered, the authority in her voice confirming his suspicion. Danarius was dead. He didn't know whether to be relieved or terrified.

Wren ran off, and the mage opened the door to his cell.

"Fenris, I'm here to help. Can you understand me?"

Fenris nodded. He wasn't dumb. "Yes, mistress."

She looked relieved. "Okay, good. I'm going to heal you now, okay?"

Fenris nodded again, wondering why she bothered to make that a question. Of course he was okay with it. And, even if he wasn't, there was no way in Thedas he would tell a magister no to anything.

She stood with her arms outstretched, but not touching him, and sent waves of healing magic over him.

Fenris couldn't help groaning as the lashes on his back and the soreness in his lower regions evaporated. When his bones knit themselves back together, he actually wanted to weep, but was too wary.

After the enormous amount of energy needed to heal a body so broken, his new mistress leant back against the bars of his cell, clutching her head as if fighting off a headache.

Fenris realized then in what position he found himself.

His first meeting with his new owner found him already being punished for failing a task. Being branded as a failure now would likely contribute to his being disposed of in the future. He knew exactly how to make sure his owner was pleased with him, if she didn't just order him to serve her in the first place. It wouldn't be pleasant, but it would keep him alive.

Hopefully.

The mage regained her composure. "Sorry, I needed to clear my head for a second. Let's get you unchained," she said as she approached him.

Again, not touching him, she sent a pulse of magic at his wrists, and the manacles unlocked themselves.

He fell onto the ground, and had to deal with intense disorientation as the blood flowed to his head again.

"Are you okay?" His mistress asked with likely faux concern.

She bent down as if to touch him, but stopped at his flinch. It was a little thing, but touch meant pain to Fenris's body, and he couldn't control these involuntary movements, even though they had gotten him punished more severely in the past.

Slowly, he bent himself into a bowing position. "I live to serve you, Mistress."

"There's time for that later. Let's get some food in your stomach," she said as she left the cell.

He followed her, with only minor difficulty. His limbs were sore, but compared to the pain he had been in, it was nothing.

They emerged into the grand foray, and Fenris noticed there was no trace of the mess from his bloody entrance.

Wren was just leaving a room in the empty hallway, and Fenris's brow furrowed. He slept in his master's room, everyone knew that.

His mistress wasn't paying attention to which door Wren had left, and was instead filling him in on the change in ownership.

"I killed Danarius in a duel yesterday. I had wanted his position for a long time, and I knew I was ready. It's a good thing you weren't around to interfere with my plans haha. If you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you being punished for?"

He hesitated. The wording of this was crucial. "Danarius had sent me to murder an opponent of his, and I was unable to do so." No denial, no shifting of blame, no hint of impertinence.

"Why not?" His mistress asked, looking at him with surprise.

"There was a concealed trap on the roof that crippled my leg and sounded the alarm. I could only barely escape."

They reached the door Wren had left, and Fenris's stomach growled at the sight of the bowl and bread sitting on a desk in the room.

He didn't move toward it, staring at the ground.

"Well, dig in Fenris! You must be hungry after not eating yesterday and today!" His mistress ordered, cheerfully though, and went to sit on the bed.

Fenris dug in. As weak as the broth was, it was exactly what his stomach needed. The bread made him uncomfortable, but he ate it anyway. It was clear it was a fresh loaf from today; he normally had day-old bread, at best.

He finished eating and rose to his feet, to find his mistress staring at him.

/-/-/-/-/

Fenris's eating had sent a pain of sympathy through my stomach. I had just managed to keep it together after the horrific sight of him hanging from the chains, but the quick, desperate way he devoured the food informed me that maybe it hadn't only been two days since he had eaten.

When he finished eating, he walked over to where I was and kneeled in front of me. "What do you command of me, mistress?"

Maker, his voice was so deep, it was incredible.

"You should go take a bath," I suggested. All that dried blood on him had to be making uncomfortable.

He nodded. "I will then return to serve you, mistress."

I winced. Danarius had been a monster, but I hadn't known his depravity had gone this far.

"That isn't-" I stood in front of him and laying my hand on his shoulder, my pinkie touching a line of his tattoo.

He flinched, but I didn't care.

His tattoos weren't ink, they were...

They were...

Lyrium.

Just the faintest touch with my pinkie had sent a wave of pleasure and power through me. I imagined what my palms would feel like when they touched it. Or if my entire body touched it.

Completely enraptured by the lyrium, I walked around his kneeling form and placed both hands on the thick lyrium lines going down his back. I trailed my hands up and down, ignoring the way he was as tightly coiled as a spring.

The lyrium was singing a song of glory and raw magic, and my blood was singing along.

As I leant in to lick the lyrium lines of his neck, I heard the door open and then a crash.

I whipped around, already mouthing a spell to eradicate the distraction from my beautiful lyrium.

It was Wren with a tray of food and a bundle of clothes. She had dropped her tray, and when I saw my reflection in a mirror, I knew why.

My eyes had gone completely black and my skin had taken on a gray pallor.

I took a few steps back, and lowered my hand, which had been aiming at Wren.

Then, I turned around and violently wretched in a nearby trashcan. I was supposed to be the hero, and I just practically-

"Leave, Fenris!" I croaked, fighting another wave of nausea. I fell to my knees and bent over the trashcan, miserable.

I heard Fenris leave, and then felt a cool hand on my shoulder.

This time, I flinched, knowing exactly how close I had come to losing control.

In my defense, as inexcusable as my almost-rape was, this was only the third time I had come into contact with lyrium, and by far the largest quantity of it. Silivus had been a fan of letting mana recharge naturally, as strange as that was, and, to his credit, he was free from the severe addiction to the precious metal, unlike his colleagues of the same age. He didn't even keep it in his house. My previous encounters had been finding a half-full bottle of it on a bandit Beth and I had killed on our way out of Lothering. As soon as I held the bottle, I was filled with an intense desire to drink it, so I did. My mother and Bethany tell me that when I turned around to look at them, my pupils had dilated to almost the size of my irises.

My other encounter had been a drink that was spiked with lyrium at a party. My pupils had completely covered my irises and a little more, and Silivus had caught me in the kitchen, ordering the slaves to bring me more and threatening to burn the place down when they told me their master wouldn't allow it.

That night, Silivus made sure I knew the consequences for embarrassing him and sent me to my room in a bloodied state. As I laid in bed that night, I was horrified at my actions. The bruises and cuts were easy to heal with my experience in the matter (Silivus was violent when drunk), but I was sure the mental anguish of terrorizing those slaves would stick with me forever.

Until tonight.

"Ugh," I groaned, standing up. It was a good thing I hadn't eaten dinner yet, otherwise my mouth would taste disgusting.

Wren rose as well, and stood by the door. I heard her gasp as I plunged my head in the water basin on the other side of the room.

Fenris deserved an outstanding apology, and I had to make sure I was sober enough to do it.

"Could you ask Fenris to come here after he's done? I need to apologize."

Wren's gaze, which had widened in alarm, softened. "Of course, mistress."

I sat on the bed again, with my head in my hands. One day. One freaking day as a magister and I was already a monster. It was a good thing mom and Beth had left when they did.

"Mistress?" I heard Fenris's voice inquire from the doorway. "You wanted to see me?"

/-/-/-/-/

Fenris approached the door with apprehension. He hadn't protested or otherwise disobeyed as his new mistress had stroked his marking, so he hopefully wouldn't be punished for disobedience. At least they made him desirable to her.

He tried to quell the sense of outrage he felt that he was only being kept alive for his body. Such feelings were useless.

Fenris opened the door. "Mistress? You wanted to see me?"

He knew exactly why she wanted to see him, but female magisters in particular seemed to like to play this little game.

On some strange impulse, he looked up at her face, a grevious insult. Instead of the hunger he felt in her fingers, her eyes were filled with gut-wrenching remorse, to the point where he almost wanted to console her, but it wasn't his place. Also, her head was dripping wet for some reason.

He kneeled before her, ignoring her nervous skitter away from him. Her full sense of ownership hadn't kicked in yet, that was it. She would get over that soon enough.

"Fenris, I'm so sorry." She said, averting her eyes as if ashamed. "There's honestly no excuse for how I acted. I wanted to tell you that I was different from Danarius, but-"

She's not. Fenris thought to himself, sick of this whole charade. Nobody's ever different. People had said things like this before, and it always ended the same way. The sooner she stopped playing these games, the sooner he could go to sleep.

His mistress was still in mid-speech, but he decided to do something that he never would have done in a million years to Danarius.

He stood up, and tackled her onto the bed, kissing her fiercely.

/-/-/-/-/

And my apology had been going so well, too. I thought in a daze as we flipped and I was the one pinning him.

I was running my hand all over his torso, practically quivering with delight every time I touched one of those raised strands.

He was warm, and strong, and his hands were roving all over, leaving trails of fire.

Then, I opened my eyes and saw the emptiness in his. This was an act. He was preforming his duty

I leapt off him and across the room. "No, Fenris! This isn't what I want from you! This isn't who I am!" My breathy voice betrayed exactly how much I wanted this from him, but I kept going. "I'm different from the other-"

"But you aren't." Fenris snarled, standing up as well. His tattoos were glowing faintly. "You want the lyrium in my skin bad enough to kill for it. Your very blood calls out for it. The only thing stopping you from using me is your misplaced sense of pride. You aren't different, mistress. Nobody ever is. The sooner you accept your power as my owner, you can satisfy your urges and I can know where I stand!"

I stood there in shock. Where had that come from?

/-/-/-/

Fenris stood there in shock. What had he done? Maybe it was the lack of sleep, or the loss of blood, or just life-ending stupidity, but he had just invited her to brutally murder or rape him.

It was true though. Nothing was worse than the uncertainty of where he stood. Maybe death would actually be a relief.

"Leave, Fenris." She said, turning away from him.

"Mistress, I can serve-" Fenris started, despair filling him. She didn't even want him? Knowing his luck, she would give him away as a present to one of her magister friends, or even Hadriana, or-

But his mistress started talking again. "It's obvious I can't handle this. I'll talk to you tomorrow, just, get out. You aren't in trouble, just leave."

Fenris's breathing calmed down. She wasn't done with him yet. "Good night, mistress."

As he left, he heard her whisper "Good night, Fenris."

/-/-/-/-/

First the first time in years, I picked up a quill and sat at the desk.

"Dear Mother,"

I stopped, and crumbled the parchment into a ball.

"Dearest Mother and Bethany,

I've finally reached the level of Magister. I have my own mansion and seat in the Senate. I'm also extremely wealthy, and can provide for all of us. I can pay for a ship to bring you here, or a caravan, or any way you want. But I miss you so much. I can't handle being in Miranthous alone. Please respond as soon as you get this. I love you two so much,

Hawke"

I stared at the letter. I didn't mention Fenris, or the lyrium or any of the things I actually needed to, which were necessary exclusions, in case the letter was intercepted. But I couldn't send the it. Not after they abandoned me.

Extinguishing the candles with a blast of cold air, I fell back on the bed.

My first day as a magister, and I was already a monster.

AN: Sorry if the switches in viewpoints threw you off; I tried to make them as obvious as I could. Review if you liked it, review if you didn't!