Anna waited for the cheering to die down and the referee to start speaking, standing still and quiet just inside the door. Having no idea what lay ahead of her, it was safest to simply wait. The noise seemed to go on for hours, but finally it died down and she could hear the referee, sounding nearly breathless with excitement.

"Lords and Ladies!" He yowled, "This is the Fifth Puzzle! The Dog Lord has faced four puzzles without hesitation or fear, she is as bright as a star this one! But let us see how clever she is when she can no longer rely on her eyes!" Anna snorted. She had been unable to rely on her eyes all day.

"The stone tiles that stretch in front of our pretty Champion are, when you look at them, identical - but some are safe to tread on, some carry traps! A grid of ten times fifteen, and no way of seeing the safe way across! Let the puzzle be set, let the champion loose - one misstep and they will be wiping her off the walls!" The crowd laughed and cheered and roared, but Anna ignored them. Identical tiles, the referee had said - but also that she had no way to see the way across. Therefore there had to be some other way to find it. If sight was useless, well. She had four more senses. Anna leaned down and unlaced her leather boots, carefully removing them and the thin socks she wore beneath. Her bare feet immediately sunk into the warm sand, and she started moving forward slowly, not knowing where the tiles began. She moved carefully, step by step, and suddenly she stubbed her toe on something hard. She muttered a curse and winced in pain. A tile, she had found a tile. She raised her foot slowly, careful not to place any weight on it since it could be booby trapped, then carefully felt it. It had some sort of pattern on it, but she could not make out what it was. Swirls and circles. She stepped back and walked slowly to the left, letting one foot drag along the line of stone. When she felt a small gap, she realised she had found a new tile. Slowly she ran her bare foot over the surface, feeling the same pattern. She continued down the line, checking tile by tile until she felt only sand next to her foot. Then she turned, and repeating the process she walked all the way back beside the stones, now dragging the other foot alongside the stones. She could hear the crowd chattering amongst themselves but paid them no mind. She checked each tile carefully, until she reached the last one in the row. There she stopped, frowning, before hunching down to touch it with her bare hands. No, her feet were right. It was smooth. All the others had a pattern she could feel under her feet, this one was smooth. She hesitated, bit her lip, and took the plunge. She stood up and stepped onto the tile, letting all her body weight rest on it. She held her breath waiting for an explosion. It didn't come.

Anna beamed with happiness. She had solved the Puzzle: the safe tiles were smooth. The booby trapped ones were indented. She hunched down again, reaching out and carefully touching the tile directly in front of her. Indented. Not safe. She tested the one next to it. Smooth. She carefully shifted her body weight on to it. Nothing happened this time either. She had really figured out the secret! Full of new determination, Anna started moving across the tiles, feeling her way with careful hands.

Fenris held his breath as he saw Anna step onto the first tile. He expected it to go off at any second. She stood there, the sun shining on her hair, and the entire gallery held their collective breaths. When a full minute had passed he let out the breath he had been holding. Anna had moved to the second tile now, after carefully having ran her hands over the two in front of her. Clearly, she had discovered some way of discerning which tiles were safe and which were not. She moved with confidence now, unhesitant but careful. Danarius growled with annoyance next to him, his grip tightening on the chain wrapped around Fenris' neck tightening until he struggled to breathe. Spots appeared before his eyes and his head swam. He wanted to see Anna, wanted to watch her and see her complete the challenge, but his lungs were screaming for air and his vision was whiting out. He clawed at the chain, wheezing. Just as he was about to lose consciousness the pressure around his neck released a little, just enough for him to draw a shaking breath. He leaned against his master's high backed chair and blinked rapidly to make the spots disappear. Then he turned his head to look at Anna. She was more than halfway across now, just as careful as before. The sun shone on her golden hair as she hunched down to feel her way across the tiles, and an unbidden thought slipped through his mind. Spirits, I think I love her. He made a little noise of shock, hoping against hope that Danarius had not noticed. But the way that the Magister turned his head and gave him a truly devilish smile, told him clearly that he had.

Anna laid awake long after Fenris had fallen asleep that night, wishing she could see the rocks that composed the ceiling in her little chamber. But there was only darkness, and she sent another desperate prayer to the Maker to give her back her eyes. She rested her hand on her stomach, still flat and muscled, and wondered if she should tell Fenris about the life growing in there. She wanted to tell him, but if she said the words out loud they could be overheard and that could be dangerous. She wondered what the consequences could be: would a pregnant woman even be allowed to fight? And if she couldn't fight, then what would become of Fenris and herself, if she was not allowed to compete for their freedom? She had vowed to set him free and take him with her far from this place, and if it cost her life she would do so. She adjusted her position slightly, pressing closer to the sleeping man. She let her fingers run over his face, feeling her heart swell. He was so beautiful like this, almost peaceful. Not fully, of course, he was too wary and careful to ever relax fully, but when he slept in her embrace it was as if he trusted her to keep him safe. She knew, from the glimpses she had seen of his soul, just how difficult it was for him to trust anyone. That he trusted her made her feel both humbled and elated. And now his child was resting under her heart, just a spark of life yet but undeniably there. She thought back on the day's events, and once again thanked the Maker for guarding her and her unborn. She knew full well that each time she stepped into the arena she put both herself and the little one at risk, but what else could she do? This was her only chance. Their only chance.

"What are you thinking of?" His voice, sleep-muddled, concerned.

"Nothing" Anna whispered, snuggling closer. "That I love you." She held her breath; those words had not been spoken between them before, and it was a bit frightening to voice them. She felt him shift, arms tightening around her waist. His lips touched her hair.

"Anna" he whispered, his voice barely audible. It was all he said, but she didn't need anything else. Those two syllables said everything: that they would be alright, that she would succeed with the third task, that whatever came later they would face together and come out victorious. She felt his feelings for her each time he touched her, they were in every glance, every touch, and every word he spoke. She didn't need to hear the words; it would be nice to hear them eventually, but they weren't needed. He was hers, and she was his. And when the time was right, she was going to tell him all that was in her heart. Once they were safe, she was going to hold him to her heart and tell him that he was her purpose, what she breathed for. That he was her song and her dance, her night and her morning, her hope and her whole heart. But not now, not when words were dangerous, words could be overheard and become weapons. Once they were safe, she would tell him everything, including their baby.

Anna moved slowly towards the centre of the arena and cursed herself for not having told anyone that she couldn't see her own hand in front of her. But that was pride for you, it seemed like a good thing until you were in over your head and there was no one to help you. Providing that you were still capable to ask for help. She had no clue what she was supposed to do or where to go, so she just kept moving forward hoping she was going in the right direction. She got confirmation when she for the fourth time walked straight into a table. Of course it was with the bruised hip first and she whimpered, feeling both sorry and stupid. She carefully felt her way across the table, noting that it was filled with a jumble of items. There was a small hand mirror, a bowl, a skull she really hoped was ancient, a few mushrooms, a compass and a pair of child's shoes. And that was only what she managed to identify. There were other things, too, but she had no clue what they were. Then the referee spoke.

"Welcome, Lords and Ladies, to the Third Task of the Second Part of the Three-Fold Challenge, issued by Magister Danarius to Anna Hawke, the Fereldan Dog Lord!" The gallery cheered. Anna smiled to herself; she was proving popular. She just hoped that the popularity would last when she had won freedom for herself and Fenris. "Today, she faces the Avatar of Wisdom!" The what? "It will ask her a series of questions, and she must place the correct item in its outstretched hand! If she places the wrong item, a bolt of storm magic will strike her!" Anna paled. Oh help, now she was in for it. She turned and walked slowly forward, feeling for the Avatar. Her hand touched cold stone, and she realised that it was a statue. Right. Put the correct item in the statue's hand and don't get singed. Easy. In theory, at least. She waited for the first riddle and wondered if the statue would be heard in the entire arena or not.

She got her answer when a voice, gravelly like the grind of stone on stone in a mill, spoke loud enough to be heard even at the top of the arena, at the poor seats.

"It has a head. It has a tail. Yet it has no body." The statue said, and Anna scrambled back to the table, frantically rifling through the items. Then she stopped, annoyed at herself. Figure out what you are looking for first, stupid! She admonished herself, and felt a trickle of laughter from Fenris. Then she thought of what the statue had said. It has a head and a tail but no body. She ran her hands over the items more slowly this time. Then her fingers closed around something small, round and thin. It was smooth but slightly indented. She held it in her hand, touching it carefully. What was it she was holding? Then she smiled. She knew. She turned and walked back to the statue, placing the item in the statue's outstretched hand.

"You have chosen the coin." The gravelly voice said. There was a brief pause and Anna wondered if she was about to go bzzzzzt!. "You are correct." The statue went on and Anna breathed a sigh of relief as applause ran down from the gallery to her ears.

"At night it comes without being fetched, at day it is gone without being stolen."

Fenris watched as Anna searched for the correct item amongst the jumble of things on the table. There was something about the way she moved that made him wonder. Something was just a bit off. It had been yesterday too, but he couldn't put his finger on what that was. He felt relieved when she placed the correct item - a wooden star - in the statue's hand and it disappeared in a flash of yellow light. So far she was safe. He kept staring at her intently, watching as she searched for an item that "has two heads but no body. The more it stands still, the faster it runs", that he suddenly understood. Anna wasn't looking at the items. She was touching them. His blood ran cold. She didn't look at the items - because she couldn't see them.