Okay, so a little background I neglected to give before- This is set in the TV series, sometime before the 1st season finale. We're just going to pretend that never happened, mmkay? Otherwise, I'd have no story, and that would be boring. In case you're wondering, I haven't read the books, although from what I've heard about he discrepancies between TV and books, that might be for the best. Basically, Craig Parker just makes me want to write stuff. (Seriously. Every time the man appears on screen, a plot bunny is born. I have like 10 snippets of Haldir fanfic on my hard drive, no joke)

Anyways.

18 Months Earlier

Lilah Smith was, as her name would imply, the daughter of a smith. Brom Smith was his name, and he was the kindest and best father a daughter could ask for. He was the best blacksmith for miles and miles, and his forge was nearly always hot. Lilah lived an easy life in the idyllic Midlands village of Riverswood. Her family did well. Her mother and sister, Freya and Hannah, spent their days happily in the kitchen, as Lilah spent hers at her father's side, learning the trade and art of being a blacksmith, since her father had no sons.

She grew up as most do; she laughed, and loved. Skinned her knees and burnt her fingers. Had her heart broken, and broke a few hearts of her own. She kissed the baker's boy and exchanged shy glances with the scholar's apprentice. She was best friends with Hannah and with the seamstress's daughter as well. She grew strong in the smithy, and smart in her family's company. Her parents said she grew up too fast.

That all changed when the D'Harans came through. They marched into Riverswood like they owned it, as if they had the right to whatever village in the Midlands struck their lord's fancy. Apparently, Lilah's town, but more specifically, Lilah's father, had tickled Lord Rahl's whims.

At the time, Lilah hadn't known how Rahl had heard of her father's skill. Later, she would find that a man from another village had bought one of her father's swords at a fair price, and then went on to sell it to a D'Haran captain for almost twenty times the price he had paid for it. The captain then returned to the People's Palace, where Lord Rahl noticed the superior craftsmanship of the blade. He asked where the captain had bought it. He told Rahl of the trader. The man was brought in, and he told Rahl of Brom Smith, the best blacksmith in the Midlands. He told him also of Brom's daughter, who stood at his side in his forge, and who he was fiercely protective of.

So Lord Rahl sent his men to Riverswood, with the instructions to bring back Brom Smith, and his younger daughter.

They came for them the day before Lilah's nineteenth birthday.

Lilah and her father had been working in the forge on swords for men in the resistance when a quad of the Dragon Corps, led by a D'Haran captain, marched in. He surveyed the scene before his eyes for a moment. Lilah was pumping the bellows as Brom hammered on what would soon become a broadsword. Upon their entrance, both looked up in shock.

"Can I help you gentlemen?" Brom asked diplomatically. "If you're in need of weapons, I can outfit the four of you in a sennight, but if it's armor you need, it'll be more time."

"It's not armor we came for," the captain said cryptically. Lilah and Brom looked at him askance as he let the statement hang for a moment. "It's the two of you." For a time, no one said anything. Lilah looked back and forth between her father and the D'Harans. Finally, her father breathed deeply, and spoke.

"And what, exactly, do you want with the two of us?" he asked calmly.

"Lord Rahl has heard of your skill," the captain informed your father. "He has invited you to come with us to the People's Palace, and act as his blacksmith there." Lilah's father raised his eyebrows in interest.

"And why would Lord Rahl think I would accept this offer?" Brom replied, his tone carefully devoid of emotion.

"If you refuse his offer," the captain replied, "Lord Rahl has invited me to kill your daughter." At this point, a D'Haran, who had snuck up behind Lilah during the course of the encounter, held a dagger to her throat. She gasped quietly, but tried to stay calm and keep her breathing even so as not to jostle the knife. "Also, your wife and elder daughter. And anyone in the village I feel like." Brom's brows furrowed in fury. He looked at Lilah. She met his gaze evenly.

"Father, there's not a choice," she said. Brom's fiery glare turned on the D'Haran.

"Why my daughter? Why Lilah?" he demanded.

"Your protectiveness of your daughter is well known throughout the village," the captain said smugly. "She will be Lord Rahl's personal attendant…to ensure your loyalty."

"Ensure my loyalty?" Brom roared. "That's ridiculous! I'm a common blacksmith! What is the point of kidnapping the daughter of a man of no importance at all?"

"Tell me, blacksmith," the captain said conversationally. "How easy would it be for you to sabotage a sword made for Lord Rahl? So that in the field of battle, or in the practice ring, it failed him and shattered?" he paused to let it sink in, before stating grimly, "The girl comes with us."

Brom looked to his daughter again. She nodded cautiously, conscious of the blade at her throat.

"As Lord Rahl commands," Brom bit out. The D'Haran captain smiled a chilling smirk.

"I thought you'd see it my way," he said, and motioned to his men. They chained Brom and Lilah's hands. As they were led out of the smithy, they saw Hannah and Freya, being held by more D'Harans. All of Riverswood stood in the square, watching with sad eyes. Hannah wept openly.

"Don't worry about me, Hannah," Lilah said to her, stopping for a moment. "I'll be just fine. Being Lord Rahl's personal attendant will be much easier than being father's apprentice. I'll have soft hands by the time we come home. Softer than yours. Wait and see," she said, her voice breaking. "Take care of Mother." Hannah nodded. Lilah looked to her parents. Her mother was holding her father's face, whispering softly to him. She released him, and turned to Lilah.

"Be brave, my darling girl," she whispered fiercely.

"I love you," Lilah replied. Freya kissed her daughter's forehead.

"And I you," she said. The D'Haran holding Lilah tugged at her chains, and she was dragged away.

Lilah and Brom walked for weeks. They were given little water, and even less food. Their feet ached from walking and their shoulders ached from the heavy metal chains and their hearts ached from the weight of it all. Finally, they reached the People's Palace, dirty, beaten, hungry, but more than anything, tired.

The two were taken to Rahl immediately, chains, rags, dirt and all. They were pushed to kneel before him by his guards.

"Brom Smith," Rahl drawled. "And am I to presume that this is the daughter I've heard so much about? Tell me, girl, what is your name?"

"Lilah," she bit out, glaring into Rahl's cold blue eyes defiantly. He chuckled darkly.

"Lilah," he said. "A pleasure to meet you. I'm sure the feeling is mutual." Lilah invited Rahl to do something rather unpleasant and physically impossible to himself. She was promptly kicked in the ribs by her guard. She grunted, but made no other audible noise, though she was fairly sure her ribs were bruised, if not cracked.

"Lilah," Brom said. "Quiet."

"Yes, Lilah," Rahl taunted. "Listen to your father. He's a smart man."

"A hundred times smarter and better than you could ever hope to be," Lilah rasped through the pain. The guard lifted his foot to deliver another blow, but Rahl held up a hand to stop him.

"No," he commanded. "Have her cleaned up, dressed, and sent to my study. We'll have some fun together, you and I," he said to Lilah with an eerie smile. "Have the blacksmith taken to his new chambers, then have him shown the forge. I want a new blade crafted within the week," he ordered, walking out of the room. "No excuses."

Lilah was jerked up roughly. She kept eye contact with her father for as long as she could, but soon her guard dragged her around a corner. She was taken to a tiny chamber where there was only a bed and a washtub. On the bed, a plain black dress had been laid out. She looked around for a moment. The guard let a maid in before slamming the door.

"Miss, I'm to help you with your bath," the maid squeaked. She was a young thing, no older than fourteen.

"Do I really merit a maid?" Lilah asked sardonically. "Aren't I a sort of maid myself?"

"Oh, I'm not a maid, Miss," the girl said. "I help the healers here. I'm here to patch you up, make sure your wounds are clean and your ribs are unbroken. I'm told you were kicked?"

"Oh," Lilah said, a bit surprised. "Well, I apologize for calling you a maid. Yes, I was kicked. Your help would be appreciated." Lilah lifted her tunic to see her ribs. The skin where she had been kicked was broken, and there was a trickle of blood down her side. Around it, a huge purple bruise was already forming. Lilah touched it, and winced. "You have your work cut out for you…" she trailed off, not knowing the girl's name.

"Ani," the girl finished for her.

"Ani." Lilah repeated.

"If you please, Miss, I need you to remove your tunic," Ani said meekly, stepping closer to Lilah. Lilah acquiesced, leaving her in her naked but for her breeches and the bindings on her chest, which were far more practical than a corset when working in a forge.

Ani looked closely at the bruising, and wiped away the blood from the wound.

"The puncture is likely from the guard's boot," Ani muttered. Lilah was unsure if the comment was directed at her.

"That steel toe makes for a fantastic rib cushion," she remarked casually.

"Tell me if this hurts," Ani murmured. Then, she poked the bruising. Lilah cursed. Ani hummed to herself. Then, she poked a few inches away from the bruising. Lilah cursed again. Ani stood, and nodded.

"They're broken," she said matter-of-factly. "I'll bind them for you after your bath. You'll need some help anyway, as you'll find you won't be able to lift your arms without pain." Lilah tried, and cursed a third time. Ani made a chiding sound and gently pushed her arms down.

"It's not that I didn't believe you," Lilah told her. "I just wanted to see." Ani sighed.

"Why don't you get in the bath now?" she suggested. Lilah did as she said. Once she was in the tub, Ani handed her a small cake of lye soap.

"You wash what you can reach without pain. I'll do your hair," she ordered briskly.

"Yes, ma'am," Lilah said, going to work on the parts of her legs within arm's reach. When they had finished, Ani helped Lilah out of the tub and into new underclothes. She then bound Lilah's ribs tightly before helping her slip into the new dress. It fit surprisingly well, Lilah mused. The sleeves were slightly short, hitting halfway down her forearm, but the hem barely brushed the floor, and the garment itself was only slightly tighter than Lilah would have wished. Black, she mused vaguely, would slim her muscular form. She then snorted aloud, causing Ani, who had been braiding her wavy brown locks to jump. Was she really worrying about how she would look? As if she were still at home, where any of that mattered? She sighed. Ani finished the long plait, and then pinned it into a low bun. Lilah stood with some difficulty.

"Well?" she asked. "Am I presentable?" Ani's emerald green eyes bore into Lilah's brown ones. Lilah almost laughed at the picture they must have made, the tiny blonde girl staring intently up at Lilah's face, nearly a head and a half above hers.

"Yes," Ani said with finality, after a long pause. "We don't have shoes for you yet, so you'll have to go barefoot for now. Watch your step in the halls." Lilah nodded. Ani then opened the door and said to the guard, "She is to be taken to Lord Rahl's study." Lilah looked sharply at Ani. Ani met her eyes with a small show of remorse.

"I must get back to the healers," she said to Lilah by way of apology. Lilah sighed with defeat and looked cautiously at the guard who had broken her ribs. He looked past her. Then, he roughly grabbed her arm, and "led" her through the palace to Lord Rahl's study. He pushed her in unceremoniously. Lilah fell to her knees from the pain of having her ribs jerked around, but rose as quickly as she could. Darken Rahl, who stood a few feet away, looked her up and down.

"My, my," he commented. "You clean up better than I anticipated. May I ask you a question?" he asked her. She glared at him, refusing to break eye contact.

"I believe the etiquette in these situations is 'He who owns the castle asks the questions,'" she said, adding as disrespectfully as she could, "My Lord." To her chagrin, Rahl just laughed.

"You are entertaining, Lilah Smith, blacksmith's apprentice," he informed her. "I was right when I said we'd have some fun. Starting with this," he said, suddenly moving in uncomfortably close to her. He looked down into her face from a mere inch away. Lilah mentally noted that he was a rather tall man. "Listen well, Lilah," he bit out. "I will not be humiliated by a peasant's daughter in front of my men, or anybody." He moved closer, if it were possible. "If we have this problem again," he whispered, "You'll find yourself with more than a few broken ribs." He punctuated his threat by grabbing Lilah's wounded side. The touch itself was not overly rough, but the pain was enough to make Lilah gasp softly. At the sound, Rahl's eyes changed. They went from frighteningly intense to almost shocked, as if he had not intended to lose his temper in such a manner. After a mere second, he composed his features and smiled slowly, backing away.

"As I was saying," he went on, as if nothing had happened, "May I ask a question?" Lilah nodded stiffly.

"Good answer," he congratulated her patronizingly. "My question is this: do you sing, Lilah?"

Lilah was dumbstruck.

"Do I what?" she asked, wanting clarification.

"I don't believe I stuttered," Rahl replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I do," Lilah said warily.

"Ah, wonderful," Rahl said, moving to his writing desk. "I'll have a song, then, while I write. I don't suppose you know anything D'Haran?" he asked. Lilah was dumbstruck. "No? Well, we'll remedy that. For now, anything that comes to mind will do." He sat at his desk and pulled out a quill. Somehow, Lilah found her voice an began to sing a lullaby her mother taught her. Rahl, nonplussed, pulled out a quill and his journeybook, and began to write.

Lilah stared in amazement. This man, she thought as he worked, is absolutely insane. Father and I have to get out of here.

"Louder, Lilah," he commanded imperiously, shaking Lilah from her thoughts. Too in awe to do anything else, she crescendoed. When she finished her song, Rahl looked up.

"That will be all. Take her back to her room," he addressed the guard outside the door. "I'll see you tomorrow, Lilah," he said. Lilah allowed herself to be pulled from Rahl's study and into her tiny chamber, which she now realized was just down the hall. As she was pushed roughly and fell to the floor, she thought in a daze,

This is madness.

Review, please!

Much love,

D-P