Chapter One
Cold air swirled around the camp as I sat by the fire and plucked a melody on my lute. The notes were sweet against the night. The air chilled my back while the fire warmed my legs, its light reflecting off the snow. My companions sat in the warm glow, listening as I sang foreign songs of triumph and love with my voice low and strong against the sharp air. The eerie silence as my last note rang through the air was rare. It was as if no one wanted to disturb some long forgotten ritual being performed for the first time in centuries.
My friends sat back, taking in the last remnants of song before Varric spoke. "Where does a rogue like you learn something like that?" He sounded surprised and I gave a menacing laugh before I began quietly strumming a sinister chord.
"Would you believe me if I told you that I was taught by an Orlesian bard while we spent eight months trapped on a Rivani pirate ship?" I increased the tempo of my strumming, "I had been forcibly conscripted and with my weapons stripped from me and with no escape once we reached open waters, I was stuck and had to make myself useful or be thrown overboard. Well, the captain of the ship turned out to be quite the musical connoisseur. He had hired a former bard to both protect him and play for him. She heard me singing below decks one day and asked that I perform duets with her. In exchange she taught me how to play." The flickering light of the flames bounced off the flat expressions of my friends and I sighed. "No? Damn. Okay, well the truth then. I took interest in music when I was young and was taught by a Starkhaven minstrel in Ostwick. Though that's not near as interesting."
Varric let out a chuckle of his own. "You wove quite a strand of fiction there however. Mind if I steal that?" I rolled my eyes and gave him an affirmative nod. Maker knew I was never going to write it down. Varric let out an amused sigh and I looked at him curiously. "You know Avalina, it seems like the more I learn about you the less I know. You slay demons, travel through time, take the mages under the protection of the Inquisition, face down a darkspawn magister and an archdemon alone, and now you tell us you can sing and play the lute. Tell me, is there anything you can't do?"
"If you ask my mother, I'm incapable of finding a husband. Oh, and I can't paint, do needlework, or most of that other stuff that Ladies are supposed to do." I listed on my fingers as I rolled my eyes as my companions laughed. They knew as well as I did that I was no dainty flower and recent events hadn't exactly encouraged "ladylike" behavior from me, much to my distant mother's frustration. The fire cracked as a log broke within the flames and I sighed contentedly. This was my favorite part of being away from Skyhold. The open air and starry nights. No meetings or visiting nobles to impress. No daily missives from my advisors and tedious arguments over how to build a bridge or open a tunnel. Just me and a few trusted friends traveling and helping people. Out here I could think. Out here I was free.
I stretched and let out a yawn. My body ached from the days of travel and battle and it longed for respite. My eyes were already heavy as I stood and bid my companions goodnight. I was glad to be in an Inquisition camp where we didn't have to worry about setting a watch. Cassandra and Dorian both wished me goodnight and Varric simply raised his cup in a farewell motion. My limbs grew heavy as I entered my tent, knowing that sleep was near. With the last of my energy, I unbuckled my weapons harness and laid it carefully next to my bedroll. It did not take long for sleep to claim me.
I awoke the next morning to the chirping of birds and the clank of armor pulling me from the Fade and my dreams. The camp was waking up and it was time I did as well. A groan was pulled from my throat as I sat up and stretched my muscles, shaking the sleep from my body. My skin prickled as I left the warmth of my bedroll to greet the day. I strapped my weapons to my back and took a moment to stretch once more before leaving the tent. The Inquisition camp was up and scouts moved around with reports and supplies. I was the first of my friends to awaken and I took the time to saddle my horse and help some of the scouts move supplies and cook breakfast for the camp. I took a moment to experience the morning air and clear my mind of my dreams before my friends joined me. The longer I was away, the more I seemed to dream about a certain Commander and I wasn't yet fully ready to admit to myself what that might mean. As soon as we were finished with our breakfast it would be time to finish our journey back to Skyhold and all of us were ready to be home.
Once everyone was awake, it did not take us long to finish eating and preparing our mounts because we were all in a hurry to return to real beds and baths and walls. The road hadn't been kind to us and I could see the weariness in my friends' faces as we rode through the mountains. We casually shifted between light conversation and a comfortable silence. Dorian prodded me about my personal affairs. He had been asking for weeks if anyone had caught my eye. I rolled my eyes and shook my head dismissively as always before he began to describe his own appreciation for some of the soldiers that roamed around the keep. I tuned him out to listen to Cassandra and Varric bicker like siblings behind me.
The cold of the Frostbacks brushed my face as I shivered. It pierced through my cloak and bit at my skin in an invigorating, but harsh reminder of the power the elements had. The cold and snow surrounding us conjured familiar scenes of isolation and desperation. I shook at the memory of trudging through a blizzard as the frost bit at my fingers and my mind turned with the fear of dying alone where no one would find my body. I remembered the sharp air and the feeling of snow on my knees as blackness clouded my vision and a familiar Fereldan voice echoed in the distance and I fell into sturdy arms. The smell of fire snapped me out of my reverie and I held up my hand, signaling my party to stop and be silent.
These roads were not empty.
The sound of weapons being drawn behind me brought me comfort as we cautiously continued forward, keeping our eyes peeled and ears open for any danger that may have laid ahead. The smell of burning wood grew stronger as we came to a turn in the road and I barely had time to react as an arrow flew through the air, just grazing my cheek. Reflex took over and I took command.
"Get down!" I roared as I rolled off my horse and ran forward, pulling my daggers from my back. Cassandra's shout rang through the air as she taunted the bandits and I heard the squelch of flesh and blood as Varric's arrow pierced someone. Dorian's magic crackled through the air and raised the hairs on the back of my neck. My speed was my advantage as I rolled under the blade of a man and jumped up behind him to bury my blade in his back. I quickly looked around for another target and noticed someone coming up behind Dorian. I pulled a small knife from my boot and let it fly to land in the neck of his would be assailant. "Thank you!" I heard him shout as I cloaked myself and ran towards another foe. Maker take the souls of the poor bastards who thought raiding the road to Skyhold was a good idea. Varric and Cassandra were caught among a group as Dorian held barriers and set fire to more bandits. An archer stood on a hill taking aim at Cassandra and he was my target as my companions felled those around them. He was caught by surprise as I kicked up his bow and he loosed his arrow harmlessly into the mountainside. This one was faster than the rest of the company, quickly drawing a shorsword and blocking my strikes. We danced around each other, lunging and blocking, both of us getting in no more than minor cuts and scrapes on the other.
He sprang forward, his sword arching down. I caught it between my blades mere inches from my face. I ducked and slipped my weapons up to his hilt, spinning the weapon out of his grasp and across our battlefield. I kept low and maneuvered under his arm and behind him where I put my blades to his throat.
A sharp pain hummed through my left side as I drew my blades across his neck. I cried out and dropped to my knees. I could feel the frozen air on an open wound as the warm blood poured from my body, mixing with that of my foe in the snow. The bastard had had a blade that I didn't see. I could hear the battle in its final throes as my companions continued their fight. I pressed down on my wound desperate to stop the flow, blood continuing to stain the snow around me. I was losing too much and I could feel my head spinning.
"Inquisitor!" Cassandra shouted as I bent over in pain. My side was searing and tears were falling down my cheeks. This was not like any of the flesh wounds I had walked off before. She dropped to her knees beside me, kneeling in my blood to lift my arm over her shoulder. I yelped at the movement and strain as she pulled me to my feet and sat me on a nearby rock. "Dorian, can you do anything?" Her voice was tinged with panic as Dorian rushed to examine me. I felt the air change again as his magic probed within the cut with a burning sensation that had me choking back tears. Dorian held eye contact with me as he responded to Cassandra.
"I can only stop the bleeding. I don't know enough of healing magic to stitch this closed and she's already lost so much blood."
"Andraste's ass," I heard Varric say as I started to sway and my vision lost focus. The blade had cut deep. "What did he do?"
"I let my guard down—" I said angrily, panting trying to stay conscious "And he got a blade in me before I took him down." The wound was searing with pain that made it impossible to focus. "Dorian," I whispered, my own panic rising. "Everything is spinning,"
"Shhhh, I know Avalina. Just hold on while I stop the bleeding. This is going to hurt." He wasn't wrong. I clenched my teeth and my tears renewed as his magic burned under my skin. My head grew light and my eyes heavy.
"I want to sleep." I moaned as the world swirled around me.
"No no no no no," Dorian stammered as he gently slapped my face, "You can't go to sleep on us. Keep talking. I need you to stay awake. Tell us about your mother. You talked about her last night. I'd love to know more about your family."
I was too lightheaded to think straight. "My mother never quite understood me." I mumbled. "She always wanted me to be a good noble girl. One that served the Chantry or married another noble."
"Keep talking Ava," Varric said as Cassandra came into view with the horses. When had she left? I couldn't remember. I flinched as Dorian and Cassandra lifted me up and balanced me on my horse.
"She-" I hissed in pain, "She loved me, but it sometimes felt like she cared more about getting me to marry up than she did about if I would have been happy. Did you know that I was taught the old language of Starkhaven? I think my mother had hoped it would gain me favor with one of the Vael family boys before that whole tragedy happened."
"Such is the way of nobles," Cassandra grumbled. "Varric, ride ahead for help. Quickly." My head spun as our horses started moving, Varric galloping quickly ahead. I shut my eyes and swayed in my saddle. Was I going to die? Had I faced down a darkspawn magister and survived a blizzard only to succumb to blood loss? The pain was unbearable.
"Avalina!" Dorian grabbed my shoulder and steadied me on my horse as I fought to stay awake. I could no longer feel the cold. "Keep talking. Please." He pleaded with me
"My mother has tried to arrange marriages for me five times." I slurred. "I always ran the suitors off. I never liked the idea of my family choosing a husband for me so I acted out. It caused a lot of problems and a little bit of animosity among some jilted suitors. That's likely why Josephine has some trouble with a few lords in the Free Marches. I spurned their advances and acted in a very unbecoming manner some years ago." I smiled and thought about how I purposefully acted like a brat to discourage their interests. "My father found it incredibly amusing and my brother often helped me wiggle my way out of a betrothal and often all three of us had to face her wrath together. She would have a fit if she knew that I had feelings for a common person now."
"You are in love with somebody?" Cassandra prodded. I shrugged, still swaying on my horse. "How romantic."
"Love isn't the word I'd use. At least not yet, but they aren't noble—at least by birth— and that would really upset my mother, at least for the first few months if I were ever to pursue anything." I hissed when my horse jostled me. "Am I going to die?" I asked quietly.
"Not if we can help it." Cassandra said sternly. "But keep talking. Skyhold is not far Inquisitor." I could hear more galloping and see horses and people approach. I saw mages, Leliana, and Cullen all in the party in front of us. I smiled as they pulled their horses next to ours. "Thank the Maker!" I heard Cassandra exclaim.
"Inquisitor?" Cullen's voice sounded distant as he pulled up next to me.
"Why are you always next to me every time I'm dying?" I chuckled weakly.
"Inquisitor?!" His shouting was even more distant as my vision faded and I fell.