A/N: I'm really excited about all the positive feedback I've gotten. For those who have concerns about the accuracy of some of the lines: I have the subtitles on and in some cases watch the scene over about 3 times to get it right. Probably won't be so through in the middle parts, but the opening and the ending I'm going to make sure I've got. Sorry I haven't posted much, but my 360 decided to give me the 3 red rings and I just got that all sorted out. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!


Sparrow

For days after my encounter with Lord Lucien I was in a fog, floating between consciousness and unconsciousness. Two weeks after the night that wrecked my life I slowly forced myself to wake up. I heard a happy bark and felt something lick my face.

"He has been faithfully sitting by your side this whole time," a familiar voice said. I slowly turned my head, a difficult feat since I was still sore all over, to see the dog that had followed me and Rose around Old Town and the blind woman who encouraged us to buy the music box that day from the trader.

Rose… a great sadness overcame me as I remembered what had happened. Although I was too weary to cry, the woman sensed my sorrow. "Rest now little Sparrow," she said. "Gather your strength. When the time is right, you will have your revenge."

I felt the dog jump onto the bed and curl up next to me as I fell asleep. It was a long time before I was strong enough to leave the bed, and even longer before Theresa let me leave the caravan I was in. By the time she finally let me go outside and explore the snow had melted.

The dog followed me everywhere I went, never leaving my side. One day a new gypsy, Roy, joined our group and asked me for some help setting up his tattoo stand. We worked all morning before taking a break for lunch. While we were sitting there, Roy pointed to my dog and said, "When I first got here last night I saw that dog stick to you like a drunk to a bottle of whiskey. I just figured you had food or somethin' for him. Today we haul boxes for hours and he still is by your side. I've never seen a dog so faithful."

"We saved each other," I said quietly.

"That's some bond," the gypsy said. "He's like your second shadow. What's his name?"

"He doesn't have one."

"He doesn't," Roy asked, surprised.

"I've never had to call him," I explained with a shrug.

"Well, how about callin' 'im Shadow," Roy suggested with a smile. "It fits."

I looked down at my dog and asked, "So how about it? You like Shadow?"

He barked happily and started wagging his tail. "I think he does," Roy said laughing.

From that day on, my dog's name was Shadow.

The years passed and I followed the gypsies all over Albion helping them set up and tear down their shops. Then one day when we were camped outside of Brightwood, Theresa asked me to meet her on a bridge overlooking Bower Lake.

We hadn't been to Bower Lake in a while, and I wanted to enjoy it while I could. I loved looking out at the lake, although I never could figure out why there was a small building in the middle of it. When I was younger I had swam up to it to try and explore, but there was a lock on the door. I tried to force it open, but out of nowhere a swarm of beetles showed up and came after me. There were too many for me to fight, and if it hadn't have been for Shadow, I might not have gotten away.

I had hoped Theresa wouldn't find out, since she had told me not to go near the building, but as soon as I touched shore there she was. I expected her to yell at me, but instead she said that she had something for the cuts I had gotten from the beetles. When I asked why she wasn't yelling at me, she said that the beetles had taught me a better lesson than her scolding could. For a blind woman, she's pretty perceptive.

Her voice pulled me out of the memory. "Ah, there you are. And your faithful, friend too," she said as Shadow started wagging his tail, knowing somehow he was being talked about. She paused as if gather her thoughts and I stood there wonder what chore she was going to have me do today. "Many years ago I promised you I would help you avenge your sister's death. That day has come." My mouth dropped at her words. After that night I woke up, she had never spoken of vengeance to me. Every time I tried to bring it up, she would tell me it wasn't the right time and to concentrate on my work. I leaned in as she continued speaking, "Today, you leave the safety of this camp and seek out Lucien. The journey will not be easy."

"I don't care how hard it is," I said, anger seeping into my voice. "I just want to pay him back for what he's done."

Theresa regarded me solemnly before saying, "There's a chest near your caravan. I've left a few things inside that might prove useful. Meet me by the gates when you are ready to leave."

I ran past her and sprinted to what had become my home over the past ten years. Just like Theresa said, there was a chest there that hadn't been there when I woke up, filled with a few weapons, potions, and a collar for Shadow.

When I met up with Theresa again, she handed me a heavy metal seal and said, "Take this. It is a powerful artifact the kind of which all Heroes once carried. It will grant you access to places others cannot go," she explained as she headed towards the edge of Bower Lake. "It will also allow me to talk to you when necessary."

"Since when have you needed an artifact to lecture me," I said sarcastically.

Ignoring me, like she usually did when I got sarcastic, she asked, "Remember that building in Bower Lake I told you not to go near and you disobeyed me and went anyway only to be attacked by beetles?"

"Yes," I answered, flushing slightly at the memory. She would bring that up, after I'd just been thinking about it…

"The seal will allow you to enter that tomb."

"Tomb," I exclaimed. "You never told me it was a tomb!"

"That would have only fueled your curiosity and make you want to explore it all the more. You did not need the encouragement, little Sparrow."

Knowing she was right, I choose to simply keep quiet as she continued to speak. "In its darkest depths lies the Chamber of Fate. When you come out you will be stronger, much stronger." With the beetle incident playing in my mind I was about to object, but Theresa seemed to sense this, like she always could and spoke before I had the chance. "If you want to avenge your sister, this is the first step you must take."

I sighed heavily as I looked out at the building I now knew was the entrance to an ancient tomb. Theresa wasn't the only one who could sense my nervousness. Shadow licked my hand and barked at me before setting out on the path without me. "He is not afraid of what lies in there," Theresa said. "Neither should you be. Now go."

Nothing Theresa said could shake the unease I had when I looked at that building, but that same sense of foreboding also told me Theresa was right if I wanted to find Lucien. "This is for you Rose," I said under my breath as I followed Shadow and made my way to the tomb.