A/N: Thanks to everybody who reviewed/followed/faved, I haven't had the time to get around to thank-you PMs, but I am thankful for all of you guys nonetheless :) CRAZY last couple days that included my foot getting run over by a jeep (it hurt), getting strep throat, and getting in trouble with my teacher for something I didn't do. :( still in bed cuz of the strep and I started itching to write a new chapter so.. here ya go!
My muscles tense, and my fists involuntarily clench. The man, who reeks of stale ale and desperation laughs a vile, gritty laugh.
"What? Put her down? Who's going to make me, you, the dirty elf bitch who looks like she just climbed out of a sewer drain?" I glance at Hawke, and see her chugging away at an ale. I stifle a snort. What kind of warrior gets drunk before a battle? It looks as if I'll be on my own.
"I'll have you know that I am not a 'bitch', ser Kidnaps-Little-Kids-For-Coin." He sneers, and I suppress the urge to violently jump at this bad-smelling fellow and pound him with my fists. "Furthermore, I would appreciate it if you did not use such foul language around my sister. I do not need her running around shouting 'bitch, bitch, bitch' at Chantry scholars." The man roars with laughter and I raise an eyebrow.
"I'd pay a sovereign to see that, I would."
"I suppose that would be pretty funny." Maker, this human is so stupid. Even a toddler from the Dalish could do a better kidnapping job than this.
Maveria watches me for a sign. I can tell she paid attention when we made a plan for if this ever happened. Smart five-year old.
I nod. That was the sign, I hope she remembers what she had to do.
The man catches it.
Oh MAKER, he caught the sign.
He glares at me. "What was that, little elf?"
"Uh, that was just.. I was only.. oh sod it!" Like a pebble from a slingshot, I bolt off the floor and swing my leg around. With a resounding whack, my foot makes contact with his face. Teeth and blood spill out from his screaming mouth. Maveria chomps down on his hand with her teeth and he lets go.
Two men and a woman come out of nowhere. One of the men comes for me in a direct approach that I easily block and counterattack with a swift punch to the jaw and an almost equally speedy lick in the groin. He falls like a sack of potatoes. Two men down. A woman and a man to go.
Suddenly Hawke throws her ale high into the air and kicks it as hard as she can. It hits the man straight on the back of the skull and I see a bit of blood seeping out.
He grunts out a profane word that I don't catch and turns to fight her.
Leaving me the woman.
She strikes at me like a bull, which catches me off guard. Only for a moment.
But that moment was enough for her.
I feel a sharp pain in my side, then in my chest. I almost double over. But I force my eyes to stay open, my legs to keep straight, my brain to keep working.
I punch her in the face, but she catches my arm and twists. And Maker, does she twist, and damn, it hurts. I force myself not to scream. My vision starts to blur. Red covers my eyes.
Somehow, my leg swings up and makes contact with her hand, and she lets go.
But then the flashes come.
First everything is blurry, but then something happens. I see an elf.
Her hair is black as night, her skin pale as snow, her eyes are as black as the night flecked with gold. Suddenly she disappears, and I see five children playing in a field on a moonless night. Then, out of nowhere, a fire bursts up, but the children don't run away; they stare at it until with a great flash, something explodes and illuminates their faces with a silvery light.
Then one of the older children comes forward and touches the fire. He immediately turns black and falls over dead. Another older one touches the fire almost an instant after the first, and the same happens to her.
But she doesnt' die. She screams and chokes, punches and kicks and writhes until she falls over, sobbing. A bearded man with an earring in one ear carries her away.
Then I notice that the last older has seen none of that because she wasn't really 'there', and she's hitting someone with a sword. The background clears up and I see a red-haired elf huddled over on the floor.
Then the scene stops, and I see her walking away with the same bearded man who took the other girl.
The last two children stand in front of the fire, and I realise that those children are Maveria and I.
I scream at the fire and curse it for taking away the older children, though I didn't know who they were as in my vision their faces were covered with a black mist.
I scoop Maveria up in my arms and run. We sprint over fields. We dash through thick woods. Somehow, we gracefully thunder over moonlight lakes, though I don't see the moon anywhere.
Suddenly I fall forward into a hole that opens in front of me. I hear screams.
Then everything goes dark.
