A/N: WOW I didn't realise it took me so long to get this out! I apologize, and I hope that I can start posting chapters sooner. Thanks to everyone who reviewed/followed/faved! U guys rock! ;)

As my eyes flutter open from a deep and very refreshing nap, I notice two things; first, I'm in a bed, a soft, warm, wonderful bed, and second, wherever I am, it smells really bad. I groan and turn over, relishing the warmth of the thick, red quilt thrown over me and I feel my head sink in to the lovely feather pillows. I throw my arm over to the other side of the bed, and immediately freeze when I hit a warm bundle of life on the other side of the bed and realise I have just done the unthinkable.

I just hit Maveria while she was sleeping.

That may not seem like such a big deal, but Maveria does something if she's jostled in her sleep. I squeeze my face up, hoping and praying to the gods above that she doesn't do it. A few seconds pass, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe she won't do it.

Wait.

Warm liquid, with a very unpleasant smell is covering the bed and trickling around us in little rivers.

She did it.

Maveria just wet the bed.

I roll out of bed so I won't get wet, and so that my already stained clothes won't get even more dingy. I don't need Mavi's pee decorating my pants, thank you very much.

I see a bundle of clothes thrown over a chair and I assume they're for me. I also see a little lamp with a small flame in it, so I pick it up and hold it near the clothes, searching for a note. Sure enough, a small scrap of yellowing paper is setting on top. It has large, bold black letters on it. I squint in the dim light and try to make out the letters. E-L-L-A. Yup, the bundle's for me.

I make my way around the nicely furnished room, lighting some lamps and taking note of the furniture. It's all oddly small. Perhaps this room belongs to a dwarf?
I move some of the books and papers to an already cluttered desk and spread out the clothes on the low table. From all the playing cards on this cluttered little table, I can tell that whoever owns this room is an avid Diamondback and Wicked Grace player. Also, they are a cheater. Half of these cards are marked. Big surprise, if it is a dwarf. You can't trust those dwarves when it comes to cards.

I look at the clothes spread out on the table. There's a green dress, that looks like it's made of cotton and the hem is adorned with a golden spindleweed design. It goes roughly down to my knees but it's a little bit big, so I set it on a separate pile of clothes that I'm not going to wear. I also set aside all the skirts. I will never, ever wear a skirt. They make me look like a- well, let's just say they don't look good on me and leave it at that, shall we?

I've sifted through the clothes and found a very nice sleeveless white shirt that fits me almost perfectly. I'm also wearing black leather pants and boots that feel like they were made from Dalish cloth. They're a very pretty shade of grey, and I can only imagine how expensive they must have been. I quickly put my dirty hair back into a messy braid. I see a white-marble basin and a mirror on a small vanity. I take my little lamp with me, and nervously slide onto the bench. What will I look like after all these years? It's been at least a decade since I've seen my reflection, and that was when I was all squeaky clean. What will my appearance be under all of the dirt and grime that my skin collects during my daily life in the slums? I take a deep breath, and slide over on the bench so that I can see myself. What I see almost makes me gasp.

A dingy, disgustingly skinny elf girl stares back at me through the mirror. Her face is covered in thick layers of oddly colored mud. Her cheeks are hollow and her eyes look fearful and starved. What did Aveline and Isabela see in this ugly elven urchin that made them have pity on her? I can't rightly answer that question, and I can't bear to look at my dirty face any longer, so I grab a rough-bristled brown brush, a soft, blue, cotton washcloth, and an oddly colored bar of soap that smells minty, and I set to work.

Almost half an hour later, the water in the basin is so dirty it could turn even the less weak-stomached nobles green. My arms are red from my vigorous scrubbing, and my skin burns a little, but I'm finally ready to look at my reflection again.

I'm surprised at how much better I look.

Sure, I'm still painfully skinny and my hair is less than divine, but I look a little bit more like a civilized young elf and less like a barbaric street whelp.

I think I'm ready to find Isabela and Aveline now. I need to tell them Mavi wet the bed. And I could use a meal.

I open the door to the room I slept in and a blast of noise hits me like a particularly harsh gust of wind. I realise that I'm in a tavern. A very busy tavern, at that.

Finding them in this giant tavern will certainly be an adventure. And not necessarily one I look forward to.