Hey guys! It's Ash. Hey look, I'm writing Throne of Glass :) I just really like the series and its dynamic so I thought I'd develop an idea I had. I hope you enjoy! I in no way own the Throne of Glass series, Sarah J. Maas does, and she uses that privilege to repeatedly tear me apart.

He was in darkness. He couldn't feel anything except for the cold stone around his neck.

He was in agony. His head practically split open in pain and his body shook as he heaved the meager contents of his stomach onto the floor.

This was what it had been like for the three weeks after Dorian had stood up to the King of Adarlan, revealing his magic for all to see. Chaol had escaped and by rumor he'd heard that Celaena's dog Fleetfoot had disappeared with him. For three weeks, he had been beaten and tortured and starved. Haunted also, by the memory of Sorscha's death. He didn't know how much longer he would last. He knew though, that any second now, the agony would start once more, make him feel like his entire body was on fire.

But then he felt something. Something other than the smooth rock around his neck. He felt something…soft against his face. Hands. Small, skilled hands were pushing his hair back gently from his face. They moved downwards and off his face altogether. He nearly screamed. He longed for the softness the person's hands, longed for them to touch his face, to spark even a little bit of hope within him. He leaned upwards, desperate not to lose the only feeling he'd had in weeks. That's when he felt the tug on his neck. He heard a soft tapping sound, like metal on stone, and another tug. He reached up to his neck but hands pushed his down. The same ones, but now he could feel the light callouses on the joints between her fingers and her palm. Yes, he'd deciphered it was a girl, boys just didn't have hands that small. One last tug and the darkness shattered, a feeling like cold, wintry air, hitting him full on. The Crown Prince's sapphire eyes opened slowly to be met by a similar pair. Except hers had a dab of green and gray. And a ring of gold.

Celaena Sardothien hovered above him, worry clear in her eyes. He would've sat up if his body didn't feel like it had been stampeded on my Adarlan's entire cavalry.

"Ce..lean..a?"

"Dorian?" her voice was hushed, but panicked, as though she couldn't believe he was alive.

The prince's eyes went unfocused for a moment, but as his sight returned his senses did too.

"Celaena? Celaena, by the Wyrd what are you doing here?"

The assassin nearly cried with relief and grabbed his face in her hands, leaning her forehead against his.

"Gods above, thank goodness, thank goodness. I was afraid I was going to lose you."

"Lose me?"

Dorian sat up slowly, eyes never once leaving the form of the lost princess of Terrasen, huddled over him. Realization hit him all at once and he keeled over, gasping for breath. He would've hit the floor had Celaena not wrapped her arms around his shoulders and rest his head against her chest.

"Breathe, Dorian, breathe."

"Sorscha…Chaol…my dad…the collar."

The words tumbled out as, for the first time in a while, coherent thoughts began to form in his mind. Celaena rocked him back and forth as best as she could, whispering comforting words in his ears. He was trembling, he realized, shaking like there was an earthquake and only he could feel it. He closed his eyes and leaned against Celaena, taking in her familiar scent and focusing on his breaths. In. Out. In. Out.

After not moving for what seemed like hours, he shifted his head, looking up at the assassin holding him up. He didn't wish to mull over his thoughts any longer. It made him sick.

"Celaena?" he asked.

She looked down at him, moving her hands so she could help him sit up.

"Dorian."

"Celaena, why are you here?" He didn't dare hope, but he was going crazy not knowing if Chaol had found her.

"He found me, she whispered. Chaol and Ren they came looking for me, and Chaol told me what happened. I was high up North in the Queen's territory, but we arranged everything immediately and I got here as fast as I could. I had to switch horses quite a few times and I rode through the nights until I couldn't stay up any longer or the horse needed a rest. I'm sorry I didn't get here faster." She traced his face gently. He looked half as bad as she had after they had taken her out of Endovier. Not quite as skinny and nowhere near as dirty, but he had lost a significant amount of weight and his skin was a pallid color.

"Sorry? What could there possibly be to be sorry about? You saved me. Saved me from that awful-"

He cut off. His voice wouldn't work. Celaena understood, nodding softly. He couldn't talk about it yet. It was too soon.

"We have to leave soon," she started, "I came in through your window. Do you…do you think you're ready for a climb?"

She bit her lip. In his state she wouldn't have even attempted a climb before she had eaten a Yulemas feast through. But they had to go, they were running out of time. She looked back at him to see him nodding, his eyes trained on the window before sliding back to hers.

"I'll be fine." he said.

—

They made their way to the window, Celaena going down first. She'd climbed a short drain pipe before tossing a weighted rope onto his window ledge, the metal hooks scraping against the cement. Now, Dorian sat, one foot in his room, the other hanging off the ledge as he waited, looking down to see the two guards she'd knocked out sprawled in a heap of limbs, their weapons impaled in trees across the courtyard. The prince turned to look at his room, the place he'd been housed for nineteen years. This glass castle of horrors. He felt no sadness. Looking down to see the assassin waiting on the ground below, he swung his other leg onto the ledge, then eased himself off, his hands reaching across the rope and shimmying down the drain pipe. His arms and legs burned from underuse as he hit the ground with jarring force. He panted lightly, swearing at his sudden lack of physical strength.

"I see you haven't lost your colorful vocabulary."

Dorian turned to look at the assassin, a small smile curling his lips upward. But it was a smile of someone who had nearly been broken, who was teetering on the cliff of losing everything they'd ever had. It was a close to shattered smile, but one that was capable of healing. And Celaena knew he would. He always would.

She grabbed a velvety, gray-green cloak, similar to the one she wore, off the saddle of her chestnut brown horse, tossing it to him. He caught it and pulled it on, fastening the strings and tugging the hood up as she did the same. She stood by the horse, silently, waiting for him to make a move. He turned one last time to look at the crystalline palace, then turned and walked toward the horse, mounting behind Celaena so she would have control over the reigns. He studied her as they sat there for a moment, and he could tell that the moment he saw her, old feelings had started to resurface. The prince had thought that those feelings were gone, or at least that he'd buried them, but now…now he was remembering the night of the Yulemas ball when he had..no-no. He shook his head, clearing the memory. Now wasn't the time to think about things like that.

Celaena turned in her seat, swing her legs around so that she faced him, and lifted his chin to look at him. Seeing the sadness, the utter broken look in his eyes, she wanted to cry. His once charming, joyful eyes, glinting with that undoubted mischief, were the exact opposite of what they used to be. The spark was gone, the humor and charm replaced by sadness. Without meaning to, Celaena reached up and pulled his head down, pressing her lips to his forehead. She had meant it to be comforting, but Dorian knew that tis wasn't the kind of kiss one gave their friend, or brother, and he felt his walls cracking. So he pulled away from her gently, looking in to her eyes. "Do you intend to make me cry, or are you just foolish?" he repeated her words from the day he'd visited her again. A few days after her battle with Cain. She nodded her understanding, reading the words behind his quote. Not now. I'll fall apart.She knew that look like the back of her hand. She'd had it when she lost Sam, when she had made her first kill. She understood how he felt. He had to hold himself together until they reached their rest spot, and she wasn't going to make it any harder for him. The assassin flashed him a smile before twisting back around. She caught the soft, sad smile he sent back. Dorian shifted, wrapping his arms around her waist, and Celaena's cheeks flushed hot and red. Shaking away her blush she dug her heels into the horse's sides and whispered, "Hold on tight." And as they set off into the forest, the sound of hoofbeats nearly drowned out his reply. But her assassin trained ears picked it up.

"I always do."

Yay..Chapter 1 done! There are definitely more to come. I hope you guys liked it :D