A/N: This is a rather bloody chapter, so for those of you who aren't into that sort of thing; beware. Please review! Thank you!

BOOM…

BOOM…

BOOM…

A deep booming sound roused me from my sleep. It shook the castle walls. Instinctively, I knew there was something wrong. I could hear men's voices shouting in the distance. And some that were closer than they should have been. I threw my bear fur blankets off and grabbed the dagger I kept hidden in my vanity, then scaled the posts of my bed and rolled onto the thick, strong canvas of my canopy, waiting.

Dracarius perked his head as the voices of men came closer. He let out a low, rumbling growl. Just then, two soldiers threw my door open and rushed in with their blades raised. Dracarius barked and launched himself at the second soldier to enter, taking him down and tearing flesh from bone. I took that opportunity to position myself before leaping onto the back of the distracted first soldier and ramming my dagger into the spot where his neck and back met. Warm blood flowed out of the wound and over his shoulders. I twisted my blade and severed his spine, killing him instantly.

I looked up to see Dracarius staring at me, jowls covered blood. The soldier he took down wasn't stirring and was either dead already or would be soon. I got up and quickly donned the armor I had discarded earlier, before my bath. My weapons were in the trunk at the foot of my bed. I strapped them to the holsters on either side of my waste, and attached a small satchel full of bandages and poultices as well as miasmic gas bombs and small throwing knives to the small of my back. I stooped to examine the man I had killed. Shock almost knocked me over when I realized that this soldier was wearing the armor of Arl Howe's men. None of it made sense. Dracarius barked as the sound of someone running reached my ears. I unsheathed my long daggers from their holsters and faced the entrance to my room, ready for more. I relaxed, however, when my mother entered the room in her battle armor with a long bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back.

"Oh thank the Maker; you're alright! I heard noises and shouts and feared the worst!" She exclaimed, relief flooding her face.

"I'm fine, Mother. What about you? Howe's men didn't get to you, did they?!" I asked her.

"Howe's men?! What are you talking about?" She said, perplexed.

"The men who attacked me are wearing Howe's men's armor!" I almost yelled, gesturing wildly to the two dead men on my bedroom floor. Another boom shook the floors.

"We have to find your father; he'll know what's going on." She tried to reassure me. I sighed and looked up across the hall. The door to Fergus' room was ajar. Panic welled in me like I'd never felt before. No. I pushed past Mother and ran across the hall toward Fergus' room. I stopped just short of the door, afraid of what I might find inside. But I had to know. I pushed the door open the rest of the way and the sight that met my eyes brought me to my knees.

"NO! NOT MY LITTLE OREN!" Mother wailed behind me. On the floor in front of the bed laid Oren in a pool of his own blood. There was a gaping hole in his back where the sword had run him through. On the bed was Oriana. Beaten, bloody and lifeless. My whole body had gone numb. Mother stepped over me and knelt next to Oren, tears falling from her eyes. She brushed some of his hair off of his face. The same dark brown hair that belonged to Fergus, my mother and me. I didn't realize that I was shaking or that Dracarius had lain next to me and placed his head in my lap. I didn't hear Mother's terrible, pained wails. My world had come crashing down. Only hours ago I was listening to Oren's sweet laughter. Laughter that I would never hear again. Mother was shaking my shoulders and saying something to me. I looked up at her and saw pain and concern in her eyes.

"Eden! We must find your father!" She said with urgency. I stood up.

"There's a good girl. Come now, there's no telling where your father is and what's happened to the rest of the castle. If Howe's men made it this far then we have to assume that walls have been breached." She said. Howe. Rage bubbled in me.

"I'll kill him." I growled.

"Later, darling, later. For now, we look for your father."

With that we left Oren and Oriana behind and headed toward the sounds of battle. We turned a corner, heading for the Great Hall when we encountered four more of Howe's men trying to force their way through a door. I needed to hurt someone. I reached into the satchel at my back and pulled out a miasmic gas bomb. I tossed it up in front of me, spun and kicked the flask with as much force as I could toward the soldiers. It sailed threw the air and burst over the head of the soldier at the back. He grabbed his face and started coughing and wretching all down the back of one of his fellows. Mother knocked an arrow and let it sail right into the wretching soldier's chest. He fell to the stone floor, dead. I unsheathed my daggers and ran at the rest of them, Dracarius at my heels.

The soldier covered in sick didn't have enough time to pull out his sword before I slit his throat. Blood sprayed from the slash into my face. It had a metallic taste to it. I twisted and buried my other dagger into the chest of the soldier to my right. One of Mother's arrows whirred past my ear and into his face. Dracarius had the last one pinned on the ground and was tearing at his throat. I looked into his eyes as blood began to gurgle from his mouth. He reached one desperate hand out to me, begging me to end his pain. I did nothing but watch as Dracarius did his work, wondering if this was the one who killed Oren. When the man was dead, Dracarius stopped.

"Darling?" Mother asked. I looked up from the last soldier's lifeless eyes at the door he was trying to force his way through.

"What were they trying to get at?" I asked Mother.

"That's the family vault. We can't let Howe get his hands on the family sword and shield. Come, I have the key." She said.

We entered the vault and retrieved the items. The family sword was long and old, but strong. Made of Valerian steel, it had been in many battles and had not a scratch on it. I strapped the sword across my back so I would still have free movement. Mother took the shield and hung it over her quiver. Another great boom shook the floors and bits of stone dust fell from the ceiling above us.

"Let's go to the Great Hall, darling. Your father might be in there." Mother said. There was a hint of desperation in her voice.

We left the vault and ran through a few more hallways before we came to the door that led into the Great Hall. I could hear voices shouting inside. I turned to Mother and gave her a look that told her to be prepared for whatever was on the other side. I kicked open the door and saw Ser Gilmore standing in front of the dais, ordering a few Highever soldiers to fortify the main door.

"Ser Gilmore!" I shouted. He had a few cuts on his brow and cheeks but was otherwise unharmed.

"My lady! Teryna! Thank the Maker you're both alright! I had feared that Howe's men had made it through." He said, relieved.

"They did. Oren and Oriana are dead." I told him. My voice sounded strange and hollow.

"Where's Bryce? Where is the Teryn?" Mother begged him.

"He went looking for the two of you. I begged him not to leave; he had been badly injured. But he insisted that he had to find you. The castle has been surrounded. Arl Howe has betrayed us." Ser Gilmore said. I looked to Mother. She seemed deep in thought.

"The larder!" She shouted, "He must have thought we'd go to the servants' passage in the larder!"

"Then we have to go after him." I said.

"Come with us, Ser Gilmore." Mother asked. I locked eyes with him and knew by the sadness in them, what he would say.

"I cannot, my ladyship. The men need me here to hold the door. I may be able to buy you time, however." I placed my hand on his shoulder and squeezed gently.

"Thank you. Maker, watch over you." I said.

"And you, my lady. Be safe."

He smiled after us as we left the Great Hall for the larder. As we made our way through the halls, we started stepping over dead Howe soldiers. Did Father do all of this? Was he really as injured as Ser Gilmore thought? We found the kitchen door in no time and walked inside. It was completely empty. Nan and the servants must have escaped out of the passage when the battle began.

"Over there." I said to Mother and pointed to the larder door. We made our way through.

"BRYCE!" Mother shouted. I followed her line of vision and saw Father half lying on the ground, clutching a bleeding wound in his size.

"There you both are." He coughed. We ran to him.

"Maker's breath; what happened?!" She asked.

"Howe's men attacked us. That snake waited until all of our forces had gone south and then tried to seize Highever for himself! If Duncan and Alistair hadn't been there to help me, I wouldn't have made it this far." Father said.

"I have bandages. We can get you out of here." I said, desperation lacing my voice as I watched more blood seep through my father's fingers.

"I'm afraid there will not be enough time." Said a voice from behind us. I turned to see Duncan and Alistair coming into the room, blood dripping from their blades.

"What do you mean there won't be enough time?" Mother asked him.

"Arl Howe's men have almost breached the main doors. You must leave now, without the Teryn, or I fear you will not all make it out of this castle alive." Duncan

"No!" I shouted. "I won't leave him here to die! We can still save him. I'll carry him if I have to!"

"Hush, Pup." Father said trying to sooth me, but the tone in his voice only made my panic worse. I could feel tears beginning to well in my eyes.

"You and your mother must get out of here alive and tell the King of Howe's betrayal. I will not survive the trip." Tears began to fall in earnest.

"I won't leave you, Bryce." Mother said.

"Eleanor…"

"No, we've had a good life and now it's up to our children. I'll stay here with you and shoot every one of those bastards that come through the door to give them time." Mother handed the shield over to Alistair.

"What?! No! Mother!" I yelled.

"Duncan, you must promise me that you'll get my daughter out of here." Father beseeched him.

"I will, but I require something in return." Duncan said. Why was no one listening to me?!

"Anything." Father said.

"The Blight demands that I leave here with a recruit." Father sighed and dropped his head a little.

"Alright. Just make sure she lives." Father conceded.

"Me?" I asked. How could they be talking about making me a Grey Warden right now?!

"Go with Duncan, Pup."

"Father….please." I begged, tears falling from my eyes and clouding my vision.

"I love you, my darling daughter. We both do; so very much." A tremendous crash was heard and shook the whole castle. The sound of rumbling stone was intermixed with the shouts of many Howe soldiers.

"We must go!" Duncan shouted.

"NO!" I screamed. I was lifted off my knees and by two pairs of hands. Alistair and Duncan started dragging me into the passage. I thrashed against their grips, screaming after my parents. I threw a wild punch that connected with Duncan's jaw, causing him to loosen his hold. We were in the tunnel now and I tried to run toward the entrance. Someone lifted me off my feet, threw my over their shoulder and began running in the opposite direction with Dracarius behind him.

"NO!" I screamed, tears pouring down my cheeks.

There was another thunderous crash that shook the tunnel so violently that the person holding me had to stop running and set me down. I took two steps back toward my parents when large stones started to fall from the ceiling. Dracarius bounded toward Duncan and someone shouted my name before grabbing me round the middle and yanking me away from the collapsing ceiling.

When I looked back up the passage had been completely blocked by huge boulders. There was no way back. No way I could get to my parents. No way I could save them. A warm hand touched my shoulder.

"Eden?" It was Alistair.

"Eden, we have to go." He said.

I turned away from the rubble and looked into his eyes. He grabbed my hand and led me down the tunnel. We left the remnants of my home behind. We left the remnants of my family. The remnants of my life.