Worth the Risk
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age.
Varania knew that something was wrong the minute Leto got home that night. He tried to hide it but though his act might have fooled their mother, Varania wouldn't be much of a big sister if she couldn't see that something was bothering him. Still, she respected his desire to keep their mother in the dark and so she waited until after supper was over before confronting him outside.
"All right, out with it," Varania ordered, her arms folded across her chest.
Leto started. "Out with what?" he asked carefully.
Varania gave him a look. "Don't play dumb, little brother, it doesn't become you."
Leto looked away. "It's nothing."
"You don't seriously expect me to believe that, do you?" Varania asked rhetorically.
A rueful grin stole across Leto's face. "I guess I had just hoped that you would."
"You're really starting to worry me," Varania said seriously.
Leto's eyes fluttered closed as he sighed in resignation. "I had wanted to keep this from you but I suppose that if it goes well then I can't hide it forever and if it doesn't…well then it's of no consequences."
"What is 'this'?" Varania demanded. "Leto, are you mixed up in something?"
Leto hesitated. "Maybe. I hope so."
Varania said nothing, merely stared him down.
Leto sighed again. "You know of the Magister Danarius?"
Varania nodded, though she really didn't see where this was going. Of course she knew of Danarius. He was a close associate of their master. He was, like all magisters, both powerful and cruel though he had never so much as glanced her way. Leto, however, was a different story. "Has he approached you?" she asked, alarmed. A slave's only recourse against unwanted attention was the indignation and outrage their own master felt at his property being tampered with without his consent. If consent had been given…
"Not exactly. In fact, I approached him," Leto admitted.
Varania's eyebrows shot up. "Are you mad, Leto? Nothing good will come of this!"
"You know that Danarius finds my unusual coloring appealing and delights in trying to provoke a reaction from me," Leto told her. He hadn't succeeded, of course, as Leto would be harshly punished for any open show of defiance and for being rude to one in their master's circle (however much that acquaintance might be seeking that). "I heard of a competition he is holding."
"A competition?" Varania asked blankly. She hadn't heard anything of the sort but didn't understand why this would concern her brother. Slaves were only permitted to enter competitions if their masters approved and no one wanted to risk a slave triumphing over a free man and so consent was usually withheld.
"A slave competition," Leto clarified. "Danarius wants a lyrium warrior to add to his collection."
It took Varania a moment to understand what he was saying. "No. You…Just…No." It wasn't the most eloquent of arguments but Varania was finding it difficult to think past the horror at what her little brother was proposing.
"I have to do this," Leto said gently.
"Why? Why do you have to do this?" Varania demanded. "You know what they say about the survival rate for those procedures! And they pour molten lyrium on your skin! That's a kind of torture we can't even begin to comprehend! And who even knows what kind of sick and twisted things you'd be forced to do once you became his prized possession! And let's not even get started on what exactly you'd have to do to win such a competition for the 'honor'-"
"I appreciate the concern," Leto interrupted. "But I actually spoke with Danarius when I agreed to take part in his competition and he made arrangements with our master. If I win then he will buy the three of us. You, me, and mother. I'll be his prized possession, as you said, but you and mother will be freed."
For a moment, Varania forgot how to breathe. "What?"
"Danarius wants the best possible candidate and that means he can't just choose from among his own slaves. If someone who didn't belong to him won then he intends to purchase them. He wants a slave to willingly undergo this because if not…those markings will make the slave very very powerful. Maybe even powerful enough to pose a danger to a magister like Danarius," Leto confided.
"Oh, surely not!" Varania exclaimed.
Leto shrugged. "I will admit, I cannot imagine being able to truly threaten a magister even with such markings but I might not have to. Danarius couldn't possibly keep an eye on me every second of the day. If I were forced into it then I could cause all sorts of problems or even flee and take all of his precious lyrium with me."
"He would really grant mother and I our freedom?" Varania spoke quietly, almost afraid to say the words out loud. A slave caught speaking of freedom would be harshly punished indeed.
Leto nodded. "You two are just two more slaves to our master and mother is getting on in years so she's practically worthless to him. Compared to what Danarius stands to gain by having a lyrium warrior, it would be completely worth it."
Varania allowed herself to get lost in fantasies of freedom for a moment before forcing herself back to reality. "And you would be more trapped than ever! You wouldn't just be another slave, you'd be Danarius' prize. You'd never be left alone and I shudder to think of what your life would become. Besides, you wouldn't have mother or I at your side anymore and we can't possibly just take our freedom and leave you behind in slavery!"
"There is no way out of slavery for me," Leto said softly. "If I don't do this then the three of us will remain with our master until we die or he decides to sell one of us. Danarius might buy me anyway one day and I'd be separated from you. I have no chance but you and mother do. If I do this, if I save you, then it will be worth whatever Danarius wishes of me."
Leto was always so stupidly noble. Even though he was right that he'd stay a slave no matter what, there was a huge difference between being just another elf and being the crown jewel of a magister's collection. He knew this as well as she did and yet he didn't seem to care. Part of her wanted nothing more than to accept this – a larger part than she was comfortable with – but she still couldn't live with herself is she just let him do this. "How do you even know that Danarius would keep his word?"
"I don't," Leto admitted. "But taking the chance that he's serious about freeing you is far better odds than just staying here and hoping our master one day decides to do it."
"That's true," Varania admitted. "But Leto-"
"You don't have to do this, Varania," Leto cut her off. "I know that you want this."
"I don't want you to sacrifice yourself!" Varania burst out.
"I don't particularly want to sacrifice myself either but it has to be this way," Leto pointed out. "It's not like there's an option where we all get our freedom. You and mother can have such a better life. Mother's been a slave for over fifty years and she deserves to live out the remainder of her days in freedom and comfort, not being chastised for being unable to do the work she used to."
"Mother has looked out for us all these years," Varania conceded. It wasn't being selfish is she was trying to help their mother, she told herself.
"And you, Varania! You're a mage in a mage-controlled land. You could have such a better life if you were no longer held back by the fact that you're a slave," Leto said earnestly.
"I'll always have the stigma of having been a slave associated with me no matter if I'm freed or not," Varania argued.
"Being a former slave can't be worse than actually being one," Leto insisted. "I don't know much about freedom but it can't be worse than this."
Varania believed him. She hated herself for believing him, hated herself for wanting this, needing this but there it was.
Leto seemed to sense that her resolve was weakening. "I don't even know if I'll win. This might all be for nothing. But if not…Please, Varania. You've spent so many years watching out for me, just let me do this one thing for you. Let me take care of you for once."
She could feel the last of her resistance crumbling. "Thank you, Leto. I really don't deserve you."
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