Chapter 1 "Determination"

The war was too close for her liking.

Of course it was, no one wanted it, and it was simply idiotic that Papa had to be the one to begin it in the first place. She couldn't blame it for being started at all, not after Meredith went insane and brought all of Kirkwall to a standstill. It was wise for Papa and Father to leave for Ferelden after the events of their time in the maker-forsaken city, but of all the people she knew, Papa and Father needed a peaceful life more than anything. Of course, they told her many things, but for a fact she knew that both her fathers needed a rest after the bloodbath they witnessed.

Setting aside her greatsword, Valenya grabbed the white cloth, which she had brought out for practice, and wiped the sweat off of her brow. Typically, Valenya would have only bothered to practice if Father was around, for he was the one that trained her in the first place. But for her own needs of satisfying her paranoia, Valenya happily obliged to improving her skills on her own accord.

"Independent streak; Papa told me I had one." She muttered to herself, pleasantly surprised at finding truth to his normally sarcastic words. It wasn't uncommon for Papa to use his sarcasm, for she could see that Papa and Father both were also conflicted with the bloody war on their doorstep. But as for Father, he was always dead serious whenever he spoke. Not to say that he was cruel or bitter, for he was a very loving man despite his past scars, but he never truly did take anything that Papa said seriously whenever she was around.

Despite their differences, Valenya loved them both over everything.

Brushing off her cropped pant leg and grabbing her large sword once again, Valenya trotted back to the unassuming house that her little family lived in. It was only the three of them, however Valenya considered it to be a better family than most she had seen on her various travels around Ferelden. Even though it certainly may not be the most functional relationship in all of Thedas.

The house itself was situated on top of a steep hill not far from the small village of Lothering. It had a wonderful view, which Papa took great pride in owning despite the house's overall size, and a large acre of grassland, which belonged to them. The field was set-aside for use as both a practice range, which all three of them frequently used to keep up their skills in case of an attack, and a favorite reading spot which Father often spent whole afternoons in. The rest of the property consisted of another five acres that were devoted to raising crops, and of a small barn, which held two horses and a plow. Even though it did have its problems from time to time, Valenya would never wish to be any place else, and only the maker knew how long she would get to stay.

Stopping to catch her breath, she leaned against the house and looked over at the barn. Feeding time! Shit, I'm late! She thought irritably to herself as she dashed back down the hill toward the small structure. Father was already down by where the horses were, pitching the hay into their individual stalls and mumbling while one of the horses reached out to try and lick the long pointed section of his ear. Valenya couldn't help but giggle at the sight; Frost had never succeeded in doing so, no matter how hard she tried.

Father glanced up in time to see her practically collapse onto the haystack, chuckling at her flustered appearance. Her dark braided hair was coming undone after the long practice and her freckled cheeks were glowing red. The brightness in her lyrium-blue eyes was dimmed by her drooping eyelids, and her usually upright frame was bent over with her hands on her hips. Despite being sixteen, Valenya never could jog down that hill without completely exhausting herself.

"My, my. Could this be Valenya? How kind of you to show up at this particular hour" Father teased, brushing aside a strand of unnaturally white hair that got in his eyes.

"I'm terribly sorry for being late Father. It won't happen again" Valenya assured him, picking up another pitchfork and getting to work with feeding her animals.

"It is no worry, mistakes happen and we learn from them," He replied simply," however if Hawke was here, then there would be a different matter."

"Thank the maker for that." Valenya sighed as she set down her pitchfork and opened the door to her horse's stall.

"Thank the maker for him allowing you to keep this one," Father said gesturing to Frost," If I hadn't turned around sooner…"

"Did she almost get you? Oh Frosty, I'm so proud of you!" Valenya mockingly encouraged, brushing her mane and making cooing noises at the young mare while being perfectly aware that Father had no attachment to the horse besides it being Valenya's main responsibility.

"Or me, for that matter." He growled under his breath while eyeing his daughter's overblown affections.

Soon, the sun began to slowly sink over the hills, and Father and Valenya padded back up the slope to contend with Papa for dinner. Sure, Papa wasn't known for being the best cook in Ferelden, but his meals were digestible. On more than one occasion however, a stew would catch fire or a roast would sit out too long and give Father food poisoning, and Valenya then had to make due with a ration of cheese or bread for the night. She too also cooked meals, but hers were known to be inexplicably terrible, and thus her aid in the kitchen was altogether banned.

Their steps fell into synch as the house drew nearer, and the sun had already set below the landscape. Opening the door to the home, Father quickly brushed off his feet (bare, as always) and stepped inside, feeling a rush of warmth coming from the hearth. Valenya followed afterwards, setting her greatsword against the wall and taking off her rough leather boots while Papa's footsteps could be heard from the upper level, shaking the floorboards and stomping loudly down the staircase.

"Afternoon, sweetheart!" he chimed in while pulling up a seat at the table." Where have you been all day? I barely get to see you enough as it is."

"Practicing Papa; the war is only going to get closer as of now" she responded with a contented sigh.

"Yes, I suppose that's the truest thing to say at the moment. You've been spending far too much time with Fenris to do you any good."

"And I would say the same for you, if that were the case" Father interjected, slightly irritated at Papa's remark.

"Fighting over me isn't going to get us anywhere, you two. You're both equally important, now stop being selfish!" Valenya added.

Papa only smiled at her." You're more like Fenris than you think, my girl."

"Oh, shut up!" Valenya scowled as Papa's grin turned into a full-scale laugh. Reluctantly, she had to agree. Father was just as paranoid and just as protective as she was, even though he was not her child by lineage. They told her many stories about how they found her when she was little, from being saved by dragons (when she was three years old) to being rescued from the hands of Templars (when she was four years old). Every year there had been a different story Papa told, and no matter how many times she wished for him to tell the truth, he would always say," maybe next year, Darling."

"You still have to tell me the real story of how I got here" Valenya grumbled, agitated by his constant avoidance of the subject.

"You know what I'm going to say Valenya. I'll tell you when the time is right; enough said."

"Papa, I'm sixteen years old and perfectly capable of handling the truth. Father won't tell me either, and I'm incredibly fed up about this stupid game you play!"

"Valenya Hawke, you will not speak to me in that tone," Papa said menacingly," I will decide when the time is right."

Valenya nodded, slightly crestfallen at his order, and sat down next to him, where he proceeded to reach over and grab several bowls from beside the roaring fire. Opening the lid to the pot, a wonderful aroma filled her senses as Papa carefully filled the bowls full of his famous rabbit stew. Eagerly snatching a spoon from the pile just beside where the bowls had once been, Valenya began eating her dinner right as it was placed in front of her.

"At ease, child! Maker, you must've practiced for hours!" Father snorted, walking over to the hearth and picking up his share of the meal.

"What can I say; I'm a growing girl after all" Valenya commented while slowing her rapid eating pace ever so slightly.

Father smiled, helping himself to the contents of his dish, while Papa playfully tugged her braid, causing a large splotch of brown stew to fall from her mouth and dribble down her tunic." Papa!" She squealed.

"What? I certainly didn't do anything, maker knows that sneaky elf over there could be the culprit!" Papa said slyly, exaggerating the harshness of his voice." We better keep a lookout for any suspicious pointy-eared men lurking around this house."

"Venhedis" Father muttered under his breath, only to receive a warning glance from Papa after using that kind of language. Valenya stood up and reached for her discarded white cloth, using it to wipe off the large stain and continue eating.

It took a little while for the conversation to get underway, but soon the trio found themselves submersed in a conversation about the tactical advantages of both being a rogue and a warrior, which was very unfair to Papa due to Valenya's extensive training with Father on two handed weapons. Father said that it was in her nature to study his variety of swordsmanship, for it best suited her strong-willed personality. But Papa, secretly of course, taught Valenya a few "tricks of the trade" that he learned when he was a boy, and Valenya in turn never told Father about her distinct method of fighting. That suited her just fine.

"I still think it would be a wise idea to learn several styles of combat instead of the one you have already mastered," Papa remarked," it would let you improve in other areas of your expertise."

"I disagree on you saying that I have "mastered" fighting with a greatsword, but I would like to at least wield some skill when faced with a knife. Perhaps that is a good idea." Valenya mused, playing with the hair slipping out of her braid.

"Yes, but I would prefer that you still attend your practices with me. It is completely acceptable that you want to branch into that particular area of swordsmanship, but if you do not wish to advance after a certain point, then you will at least have something to fall back on." Father added, abandoning his stew set before him in preference of continuing the conversation.

"I certainly will" Valenya finalized before standing up and setting her empty bowl aside.

"Told you she's like you." Papa muttered, suppressing a smirk.

"Hawke"

"Yes?"

"Shut up"

After a long night of conversing, the little family washed their dishes and set them neatly aside. Following her parents up the stairs, Valenya let out a ferocious yawn and nearly scared Papa out of his skin, causing Father to erupt into a bout of laughing before calming down enough to wish her good night. After combing her hair and putting on her nightgown, Valenya promptly went to sleep, looking forward to another busy day while her eyes slowly closed.

What were those lights in the distance? She thought.