Ellana of the clan Lavellan had reached adulthood some years ago. Despite her parents' subtle hints of hopes of her settling down and having a family of her own, she had turned down the few young men who had courted her. Ellana had had admirers, yes, and sometimes on the longer trips to trade with the shemlen she had let herself get flattered and enjoy some of that attention. After spending a fortnight long trading trip in the same bunk with Serand, the clan's blacksmith's son, and then disappointing the young man by not taking it any further than that, Serand had avoided going on the same trading trips with her. It was for the best, she had thought.
The trading parties that ventured to meet the shemlen on a monthly basis consisted of a dozen or so of the clan. The group was made up of mostly clan craftsmen or their apprentices, some hunters who traded pelts and leather, and a handful of guards. When Ellana was younger she had trained with the hunters. She was adept with the bow, but had always preferred blades to archery. It had been a natural transition from hunter to guard and scout. She was one of the best in the clan in moving silently, swiftly and without being seen in the wilderness, and if trouble came about, she could defend herself and her clan with her two short blades that she carried strapped to her back.
As long as the current clan elders had been guiding them, the Clan Lavellan had reached out to other clans and the humans instead of hiding and avoiding contact. Every now and then they would meet with other clans, spend a week in the same place, trade and share stories and knowledge. It was clear, however, that the trading with the shemlen was more fruitful. Both parties got from the other what they could not normally have, and the trading prices and gains were better than with other elven clans. Most of the time the trading ventures were peaceful and uneventful, but some times things went wrong. Once they had met with a group of humans intent on murdering all Dalish elves they met - it had been an ambush where Ellana had lost a friend, but had also killed someone for the first time. Sometimes they met with extortion that they could only get away from by having a couple of grim-looking guards with sharp daggers around. Sometimes they were chased by wolves, and once, before Ellana had joined the trading parties, they had even had to fight a group of surfaced darkspawn.
During the trade meetings usually Ellana kept quiet. She let the traders do their work, but she would always be there to observe. Sometimes when they met with people they had traded with before, even she would share a few words. Over the years she had learned to speak the common language well enough to mix for a City Elf they sometimes met. She took pity on the City Elves - she could not imagine a life where she had to answer for someone in the same way, living her life as a second-class citizen. The City Elves that worked for the humans they traded with reminded her of dogs that had been beaten. Their eyes sad, their heads bent, their words a quiet whisper or a whimper, their proverbial tails between their legs.
Over the years they had developed recurring trading relations with some groups. On the border of the Free Marches they had met every other month with a human trading caravan. Since they had met so often, they met with smiles and warm welcomes. One of the hunters - a strong bulky man with ginger hair, blue eyes and a stubble on his chin - had spent time playing chess or cards with the other humans. Once the hunter noticed how Ellana - the slender elven woman with silky golden hair on an elaborate updo on the back of her head, with large blue eyes and mirroring light blue vallaslin tattoos on her cheeks - had observed the games from afar, he had offered to teach her. That time Ellana had quickly shaken her head and slunk away shyly, but the hunter had piqued her interest. Next time they had met for trading, Ellana had cautiously approached him, and to her surprise found he had been expecting her. He already had a chess board set up, and when Ellana had asked about it, the huntsman had sat her down and taught her chess. Ever since then, they had played chess or cards together every time they met.
Ellana had noticed how her stomach tickled every time they saw the familiar caravan and the campfire on the horizon. The tickling had only gotten worse as they approached the caravan, and she had broken into jittery laughter against her will the moment the ginger huntsman who had introduced himself as Welton Heys - greeted her. With burning cheeks she had realized what was happening - she had not felt for the young elven men that had courted her nothing like the things for this human man, whose big hands could surround her entire waist with thumbs and forefingers touching.
She had felt the judging stares from the trading party on her neck whenever she had played the games, talked and laughed with Welton. It had made the tickling in her stomach turn into a knot - her own desires put down by the contempt that surrounded them. Welton had been very friendly and charming, and she had realized if she made but one small move, she could have joined him in his tent. The others had probably realized the same a lot earlier than her, and slowly she had begun to sense the atmosphere of their bi-monthly trading meetings changing. What had been friendly and fair, turned into suspicious and partial. The trade meetings lasted for a shorter time, and Ellana was called away from the humans to camp around another campfire for the night. With bitterness in her heart, Ellana realized it was all her fault for becoming too close with one of the shemlen.
Once back with the Clan, the elders called upon Ellana. They had decided to send her away alone to some important human meeting they called The Conclave. The Elders invoked her skills of scouting and self-defense and said she was their best option for gathering intelligence on what was going on. Most of the other clans they were in contact with had appealed to Clan Lavellan to send one of their own to the conclave, and then gather information for all the Dalish elves. Somehow Ellana had a feeling that this was an elaborate plan to cut her ties with a certain human trading caravan, and remind her of her allegiance to her own kind.
Ellana resigned to her fate, but after mulling it over, she started to feel quite excited to travel further than she had ever been before. She had the chance to see real human cities, meet even more new people... maybe learn new games! To her clan she feigned homesickness when she was saying goodbyes, but inside she felt a sparkle of excitement.