CHAPTER ONE: SERENDIPITY

"You were nothing more than a beautiful accident allowed to survive only by sheer luck."

"Oh Maker, what did you do?" a voice spoke, the owner's hands flying to her lips as her eyes widened with certain fear.

"Shianni," the other began, quiet with her own hands raised to show the red tainting the pale brown tips "I hurt someone."

Those words haunted the little elven woman as she ran. Her breath heaved through her paling lips in great white puffs as her lungs thumped painfully against her chest. Normally it would have been she who had to have asked her outspoken cousin the exact same question but due to recent events their roles had been greatly switched. And what had happened had been by far one of the worst things that either of them had ever done which resulted in running away in the dead of night. Quiet and in secret to avoid the guards who sought her out.

When the girl did manage to make it through safely not only was it a joyous moment but also a heart wrenching one. Not only did she leave her life behind but also the family that it had been so closely tied to. They prayed for her safety but she prayed for theirs as well. Maker only knew just how cruel the guards could be to those who couldn't defend themselves.

Running through the cold forest in a simple dress underneath a thin cloak had been both bone chilling and difficult. The moonlight overhead shone through the dense foliage, just barely making enough light to see a few feet ahead, and in a certain way it made the surrounding area glow with a sinister aura. Both terrifying and proud, this world proved to be so much different from the safe yet arduous place the little creature had been fleeing from. In a way she was amazed by it for this had been her very first time seeing so many trees in one spot. It almost made the vhenadahl look like a small soldier against an army. Or perhaps the vhenadahl made them look like peasants among a king, one couldn't know for sure. But what was known was the fact that the girl had little time to stand around and be in awe of such trivial things. She had to go before it was too late.

Beneath her feet the cold earth had been beaten down and squished between her toes. Along the way she had lost her boots. They were just a little too big and in turn they were slowing her escape so she ended up just taking them off and tossing them into some bushes to the side. In the end it proved to be easier and slightly more comfortable to feel the dirt and soil as the wind rushed past her. Despite the circumstances it was agreed that never before had she felt so free than the moment she left the dirty city she had called home her entire life. A terrible yet beautiful thing this escape was, like a lovely but deadly accident.

Dodging trees had proven to be the most trying aspect, however. Despite how she moved to the side there had always been another hidden and revealed just in time before she ran into it. They reached out to her, scratching her warm flesh with their claw like branches and some even drew blood as her body rushed by them. But with each scratch that had been obtained she told herself that it was far less painful than what she would have received if she stayed behind. Maker only knew what would have become of her and just thinking about it made her shiver worse than the bitter night air. Her heart lurched with the thought of her father and her cousins who stayed behind so valiantly. She didn't even get to say goodbye or say thank you and they could already be paying for her mistakes as she ran for her life.

Suddenly the girl came to an overhang and if it weren't for her quick stopping she would have fallen down it's steep edge. From what her eyes could see it wasn't too big of a drop but still one large enough to cause damage if she wasn't careful. Studying it for a moment gave her a chance to catch her breath and listen to what surrounded her. It was clear from the serene silence that the only intruder had been her and not quite yet had the guards been alerted to the elf's escape. Though that had been a victory in itself the girl suddenly forced herself to think of the other half of her plan. Unfortunately it failed to occur to her that with the leaving of one place she needed to find another to go to which would be the most difficult part of this entire thing. Nobody wanted to take her kind, especially if they were to find out she left the alienage without much choice. Her already slim chances had become even slimmer, most unfortunately.

"Never mind figuring out where I'm going to end up," she muttered to herself as a sad, tired and breathy laugh left her lips. "I can't even finish leaving."

Terribly enough, as the girl stood gazing out into the darkness of the thick forest it was made clear that she didn't even know where she was. West was all that she could configure but that was about it. Perhaps a few hours west but again she had no idea. Between the concentration of making sure she avoided the guards and actually did get out she had somewhere along the way forgot to keep these little things in mind. But it was then and there the girl declared not to let that stop her. She turned slightly to gaze out into the wilderness behind her, and as she stared she knew that the guards would be searching for her and would be until she was dead. They didn't like thieves getting away, especially "knife-ears" like her. They especially hated when elves got to go free.

So instead of squandering this bit of freedom with menial questions the girl turned her golden eyes forward to continue her escape. With one leg forward and clinging to the small ledge she dangled midair until she let go. A few sharp rocks cut her feet and after a brief second of painful ows the girl merely ignored the pain to keep running. Quietly, hidden beneath the trees and her path illuminated by just the moonlight, she fled into the darkness. There was no way in this world would she allow the humans to win. Never.

"I'm telling you, I hear something." a dark haired elven male spoke, his eyes darting around their surroundings as he did so.

His blond companion paused his chewing as he shook his head, a smile curling the corner of his lips. "And I'm telling you you're just imagining things. Now would you calm down and eat before I eat for you? I slaved over thi -"

However with the sudden shushing sound erupting from the dark haired elf, the blond furrowed his brows as he quietly chewed on his food again. He had always been so cautious, even at very unnecessary times, and right at the moment it felt very ridiculous. The camp had been a fair ways away from Denerim and the main road so it was doubted that it was anything too serious. The most it could have been was wolves or a bear but that in itself was doubted too. Wolves rarely attacked large groups and there hadn't been any sign of bears so for the most part the chance of anything being around was slim. It was all really silly.

"It's probably just birds, or a rabbit. Now would you settle down?"

"It's coming from over there."

Being completely ignored the blond rolled his eyes as he watched his friend get up and quietly make his way towards his suspicions. The early morning daylight filtered through the leaves and the moment he walked away from the small fire he could feel his limbs begin to chill over. His breath was light but still he saw the frozen puffs filter through. With slow and careful movements he grabbed his bow from his back along with an arrow in case he needed to shoot down a predator. His green eyes flicked back and forth to make sure he saw whatever it was before it saw him.

"You're a fool, lethallin," a hushed voice whispered beside him as his friend's own risen bow came into view beside him. "But I can't let you be a fool by yourself."

Their eyes met for just a moment, a silent conversation between clan mates, before they pressed on together. The crisp morning air kept them ever alert and they both had their cat-like eyes upon the mist should something appear. They were quiet, both their lips in a hard line, and for just a moment they paused. Something was definitely out there. It was in the air.

They stalked through the mist and they passed by a large tree. With the coming cold season it's leaves had already begun to fall to the earthy floor but due to the condensation surrounding them the leaves did not crunch beneath their weight as they walked. They were thankful for this but at the same time they were also resentful. It was a lot easier to pinpoint something if they were able to hear it by any means and without such an upper hand it could have easily been their own downfall. But still they didn't let that stop them. They just had to be extra vigilant in their search to make sure whatever it was didn't obtain their own surprise tactic.

Suddenly something stirred to their right and in unison they turned to face it should it have been a predator. The green bushes moved and both the elves muscles tensed as they waited to shoot whatever it was down should it have lunged forward. The bush continued to stir and as they readied themselves it revealed itself.

"A crow?" the blond said then as his blue eyes watched the dark creature fly to a tree overhead. "You were all worked up because of a crow?"

The men lowered their bows for just a moment, both of their eyes upon the creature who cocked it's head down at them, and for a second their spirits lightened. The blond shook his head as his companion clicked at it, trying to coerce it down but all it did was caw endlessly at him.

"I'm heading back to the fire, Theron. This little adventure of yours has made me hungry, and cold."

"You keep eating like that Tamlen," the one said to his fair haired friend. "You're going to need a lot of these "adventures" in your life to help you lose the weight."

Tamlen scoffed as he turned around to eye his friend and for a moment they both smirked at one another. The two had an interesting friendship, always teasing one another with the occasional fight thrown in, but for the most part they were tied at the hip. Theron had usually been the more cautious of the two while Tamlen was a little more reckless with his curiosity. Though of course there had been the times when they switched those roles but for the most part it was Theron who kept his guard up and it was Tamlen who usually brought the color into their lives. The Keeper had mentioned on countless occasions that they were complimentary to one another, like fire to ice and summer to winter. One without the other was like a half without it's mate, unthinkable really.

"I'm just preparing for winter. You'd be wise to do that too." Tamlen said then in an attempt to defend his eating habits. Theron stood quiet for a moment and watched as the bird cawed off into the distance and flew off. Tamlen had been muttering to himself about something while Theron continued to stand in place.

"Are you coming?" his friend asked then, his words dragging him out of his thoughts.

"Yeah, just go on without me. I'll catch up." he responded as his eyes met with Tamlen's blue ones.

"Suit yourself. But if you freeze out here it won't be on my hea-"

Suddenly something came rolling out of the mist beside them and in a great dark fury the creature tumbled into Tamlen who cried out as he had been knocked downward. Theron quickly readied himself as he ran towards his companion to help him out of the strange mess and like a trapped animal the blond wiggled his way out from underneath whatever it was that had just crashed into him. Theron's arms tensed as his dark eyes stare at the thing while Tamlen gathered his bow from a few feet away. When he had also readied he took his place beside his friend and together they drew close to whatever it was. Despite the force it had behind it's charge it was actually quite small.

"W-what is that thing?" Tamlen questioned with both fright and anger.

"I'm not a thing," it responded in a muffled way "I'm an elf."

The creature stirred and within moments it had revealed itself. The dark mess proved to be a cloak and underneath it was a female with dark skin and freckles. Both her white curls and white dress were filthy and unkempt, there was a certain weariness in her eyes backed by a gentle firmness. Though she looked unarmed it certainly appeared that she wouldn't go down without a fight, that was made certain by how she refused to cower before two well armed men who had their weapons locked onto her.

"An elf? From the city?" Tamlen hissed, the words sinking in. "You're a flat-ear then. As good as any human, we should kill you right here."

"Go ahead. I'd rather die out here by your hands then by any other means." the girl replied, her voice soft and tired but unyielding. Either she was very brave or very stupid to say things like that to strangers who were quite prepared to do such a thing. Theron watched her curiously as Tamlen continued to sneer at her. There was something about the girl that looked tired and pretty much ready for anything, good or ill.

"You dare say that to an armed elf? Did you hit your head when you fe-"

"What's your name?" Theron asked then, cutting off Tamlen who in turn shot him a glare. The girl's eyes turned to him and for a moment she stayed quiet, unsure of what to say to the man who had just spoken. The world surrounding them had been cold and underneath her cloak the girl shivered.

"It's Bo." the girl finally responded, her eyes watching him intently.

"Now why did you leave, Bo?" Theron questioned and watched as the girl removed her eyes from his to stare at the ground. There certainly was something peculiar about her but at the same time he couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it was. Instead he continued to be calm and gentle about things in order to prevent any violent outcome. Tamlen, on the other hand, stood at his side with a bit of disbelief and resent coating his facial features. He didn't trust the girl and he found it hard to belief that Theron of all people was willing to hear someone like her out.

"I left because..." she began, her eyes staying upon the ground. "I stole something."

"Great, a thief, just what we need." Tamlen hissed again as his eyes burned into the top of her head. It was clear she was holding something back but at the same time Theron felt compelled to lower his weapon.

"Calm yourself, lethallin," Theron said as he touched his friend's raised arms to help him lower it. "We will take her to the Keeper and her fate will be left in her hands."

"But why should we! She's as good as any shem!" He protested as he watched the other male walk towards the girl to help her up. "She could be trouble!"

"It's Marethari's choice, not ours." He answered with a firm tone in order to make himself clear. Defeated and unhappy Tamlen stood silent as he watched his friend walk off with outsider who had just barreled into him. After a deep and irritated sigh left his lips Tamlen swallowed the rest of his protests in order to follow them back to the main camp. It wasn't just the crisp morning air that made his fingertips numb. There was something about the girl that he didn't like but for the time being it was apparent he needed to put those feelings aside.