Assassin

"Andraste's tits," I gasped, choking on the stale air that filled the Spoiled Princess. "This place smells worse than Franklin!"

While no one verbally agreed with me in an attempt to remain polite to the innkeeper, the fact that they were walking around with wrinkles in their noses let me know that I wasn't the only one struggling to breathe. Even Franklin gagged as we came inside, and he usually loved smelling rotten things.

"I think I'll just sleep outside," stated Alistair.

"Me too," I agreed, rushing back out the way I came in. The stench really was overpowering.

In the end, we decided it would be nice to follow the shore of Lake Calenhad along until we found a nice spot to set up camp for the night. Alistair and I worked together to set up the camp while Darrian and Morrigan searched around for food – anything from the Princess was strictly a last resort for us.

Leliana was sitting off in the distance, watching the sun as it lowered over the lake, creating a beautiful red shimmer that matched the tone of her hair.

I must've stopped working, because Alistair cleared his throat and smiled at me knowingly. "She is quite a beautiful woman."

"Yeah," I replied, smiling, "she really is."

Once we had finished setting up all of the tents, I left Alistair to tend to the flame. Franklin was lying on the ground beside Leliana; tail wagging slowly as he seemed to be listening to something. I made my way to her side, listening to the beautiful words that flowed from the woman. I fought to stay on my feet as a wave of relaxation washed over me – the sounds were of such a quality that I shivered, and soon enough my arms were covered in goose pimples.

Leliana turned, noticing me at last. The corners of her eyes wrinkled slightly as she smiled, inviting me to take a seat next to her. "We are to enter the Circle Tower tomorrow."

"I know," I said, looking to my feet. "I don't know if I really want to go though." Leliana looked at me, her expression asking me to continue. "I… am uncomfortable with being trapped. And what is the tower but a giant cage? If it weren't for the blight, or the timely arrival of my abilities, I would have been locked up there too. To be alone every day, it just… I don't think Mabari are allowed up there."

"You speak as though you are headed there permanently," she replied. "I do not think you'd have to worry about that, I'm sure the last thing on the Templars mind right now would be capturing you."

"I don't mean not coming back from our trip now, but what will happen after the Blight has been dealt with? Where will I go? I've no family, and certainly no friends. The only person I can possibly trust is across the Waking Sea, and even then… Who knows how far my father's lies have already spread? He's probably got an entire squad of Templars looking out for me; such was his rank in the order. What if-"

"Shhh," said Leliana, raising a gentle hand to my cheek. "Fox. Listen to me. You are not the only mage on the loose. You are definitely not the only person wanted for murder. Quit worrying. We will all look after you," she said. "I will look after you."

I was beginning to truly feel everything that had happened to me, and it was not doing much for my outlook on the future. My mother was dead, and, indirectly, it was my fault. I was worried for all the things that would come, worried that one day I might even lose Franklin. But most of all, I was afraid. Afraid of the Blight, afraid of the tower and afraid of the magic within me. The threat that my father posed loomed over me ominously, and I had the feeling that he'd show up at the most inopportune moment I could think of.

Suddenly, I was overcome with emotion and needed to lie down. A single tear rolled down my cheek, which Leliana wiped away. "Lie down," she said to me, patting her thigh. She held me as I lowered, gently running her hand over my head to help relax me. Franklin snuggled up closer to me, and the two of us rested there watching the sunset while Leliana sang to us. My eyelids felt heavy, and I eventually gave in to the need for sleep. As I closed my eyes, I could swear I saw a crow watching from the distance, possibly even shaking its head. I didn't have time to think about what it meant though, because seconds later I had fallen into a deep and relaxing sleep.


I woke with a start, uncertain where I was. I quickly looked around and realised that I was still in camp with my companions all asleep in their bedrolls beside the fire. The embers glowed softly in the pit while I just lay there awake, watching them very slowly fade. I had almost fallen back to sleep when I heard a strange rustling coming from the nearby bushes. At first, I just assumed that it was some kind of animal going about its business so I rolled onto my back and stared at the stars. They were shining brightly tonight, looking incredibly beautiful as they dotted the blackness around the full moon. Even in such darkness, that many tiny lights working together could light up almost anything. In a way, I was reminded of Darrian, fighting the darkness that was the Blight. Everyone else, we were all just his support – we relied on each other, for without that trust there'd be little to no chance of survival.

As I thought on those things, I heard the noise again only this time it seemed closer. I propped myself up so that I was supported on my elbows. I craned my neck to the side, and I caught a glimpse of two bright eyes staring back at me from beneath a bush.

I looked into the eyes of the creature, fascinated. It returned my interest just as eagerly, before turning tail and heading back to the cover of nature. As it turned away, for a brief second or two I saw the creature's tail. It was bushy and of a similar shade of color to that of my own hair. It was indeed the animal from which I had taken my namesake.

I rose quickly from the covers and dashed after it. Before I made it to the bushes, I turned back to make sure that everyone was still asleep. For some reason, I felt that I needed to do this alone.

"Hey, wait up," I called.

I kept pushing through, swiping the twigs and branches away as I went along. I ran and ran, constantly picking up speed, and as my speed increased, so too, it seemed, did the amount of thick shrubbery that got in my way.

Eventually, it almost became too much for me to get through and I had to stop to find a better way through. Just beyond, I could make out a clearing and what looked to be the fox I was chasing sitting in the middle. I tried tearing my way through, simply pushing through and even tried running at the wall of shrubs, but nothing would get me through. If only I had brought a weapon! I looked down at my hands, wishing that I could just snap my fingers and my weapons would come to hand.

At that point, I wanted to slap myself for being so slow of mind – I had forgotten completely about my ability to use magic. Upon my realisation of this, the fox let out a high pitched yelp, as if congratulating – or mocking – me, for finally working out how to get through the barrier.

I stepped forward, gripping the thickest parts tightly in my hands. I focussed my thoughts on burning away the worst of it, and in no time at all smoke rose from wherever my hands were touching. I had cleared a big enough space for me to get through, so I stepped across to the other side. Immediately, the vine like growths sprung up to replace the ones I had removed.

"Uh oh," I said, turning to look back at the sudden disappearance of the entrance – and exit.

Up close, the fox seemed much larger than usual and I was beginning to regret giving chase. It growled at me, a deep and dangerous sound that sent adrenalin coursing through my body. Flames came to life in my hands, and I accepted the challenge that the fox presented.

As it ran to me, I charged head on too. I roared, a battle cry that gave me the energy to leap over the fox as it passed beneath me. I landed and turned quickly, hurling the two balls of heat directly at it. The fox was very quick and the firebolts only hit the ground where it used to be, sending chunks of stony earth skyward. I looked around for the animal, catching it in the corner of my eye just in time to avoid a particularly nasty snap of teeth. I lowered myself enough so that it flew by my head, leaving it wide open for a nice kick to the side. My foot connected with the fox's ribs, sending it flying off to the side with a hearty bounce.

I couldn't help but smirk at that.

The smirk was quickly wiped from my face, though, when the fox disappeared before it hit the ground. As quickly as it had vanished, it returned, only this time with several more identical looking animals. They surrounded me, circling and snapping viciously.

Okay. I was beginning to panic now.

What little magic I knew would surely not be enough to kill one of them, let alone the whole pack. Before I could think any further, they simultaneously broke the circle and charged into me. I had no idea what to do, so I just kinda pooped out a spell, and thankfully it was quite a powerful one. I wave of fire burst from all around me; giving the foxes pause, as well as setting the ground around me alight with magical flame. I raised my arms to the stars, drawing upon as much energy as I could muster to call down a torrent of fireballs. They crashed to the ground, raining fiery destruction upon anything within a moderate radius around me.

One fox down.

Two, three, four.

Five and six dead, leaving one more.

"Solid work, 'Fox,'" it said.

"Um… what?" I gasped. Did that animal just talk to me? Something really strange was going on here.

"You heard me, child," it replied, coolly. "For someone who has only recently come into his powers, you've certainly come a long way."

"Thank you," I replied. "Is this a dream? Am I in the Fade? Please tell me what is going on."

"No, child. Dreaming you are not."

I thought silently for a moment, never taking my eyes off of whatever I was talking to. Perhaps it was a spirit of the Fade? "If I'm not dreaming, then… where did all that power come from? That magic?"

"What is magic but a dream made real?" replied the fox-spirit. "You cannot fathom the immensity of the power you possess, which is why I am here: to guide you so that you do not squander it. There are great things in store for you, young man. You are not quite ready yet, but when the time comes you will be. I will make sure of that."

"But," I began, mighty confused. "Why… me?"

"Why you? Why anyone! It is not for you to decide, so nix those troubles now. Know this: I am always there and always watching you. I will guide and instruct you until a time where I see fit. Until then, I can offer you one thing."

"What? No explanation? You can't just-"

The spirit fox howled, rooting me in place. I looked into its eyes once more, and saw the same shade as my own reflected back at me. In that instant, I knew I had some kind of connection to the creature, something that tied me to it that definitely was not just a random encounter as it had suggested.

It leapt across the clearing, flying straight at me and despite my urge to duck or roll, I could not. Instead of knocking me to the ground, however, it vanished inside me and I felt something odd stirring deep within me. I fell to the ground hard, landing in an awkward pose that knocked the wind from my chest.

There was a familiar sound of fluttering nearby, and Morrigan appeared in front of me with her hand extended.

"What are you doing out here all alone?" she asked.

"Urgh," I groaned, clutching my head as I sat up. For a brief moment the world spun around me. "I'm not sure. Why are you?" I may have said that last bit a little accusingly.

"I," Morrigan snapped. Yep, definitely sounded accusing, "I awoke to find you gone. Knowing 'twas not like you to leave without Franklin, I came searching for you. Then I find you here, lying in dirt and stone."

I brushed myself off and turned away. What could I say? How could I explain what had just happened without sounding as crazy as Flemeth? "I think… I was sleep walking."

I winced, waiting to see if Morrigan bought my excuse.

"Very well," she said, not sounding entirely convinced, "as long as you are okay."

What? Was Morrigan… concerned? I felt my heart stir a little bit at the worry behind her words. Or maybe I was still feeling a little funny about the Fox encounter. But I like to think that Morrigan had such an effect on me.

"Thank you, Morrigan," I said, turning to face her.

Looking into her amber eyes, I noticed a sense of loneliness that I had never picked up on before. There she was, a woman who had never truly made contact with anyone of the outside world. She must have gotten lonely. I know I would have. That, or gone mad because of Flemeth.

"What was it like, living in the Wilds?" I asked her.

The question seemed to have caught her by surprise as she fumbled over her words for a few seconds. "Well… for many years it was simply Flemeth and I. The Wilds and its creatures were more real to me than any of Flemeth's tales of man."

"Yeesh… Too much time with Flemeth, I think. It's a wonder that she didn't drive you as mad as herself. That must have been… fun," I replied.

She smirked. "And now both our lives have been changed for good."

"Yeah," I replied.

"We are quite similar, you and I, in more ways than one."

I scrunched up my face in confusion, unsure of what she meant by that. Before I could say anything, however, she did something that surprised me completely.

Morrigan put her hands behind my head and pulled me down into a hot and hungry kiss. It was rough and unexpected, like something that was done on a whim and without regard for what might come after.

"I can give you what no other ever could, you should know this," she said as she pulled away from me.

Then she transformed into a crow once more, flying off and leaving me stunned. What in Andraste's flaming knickers had just happened?

Dazed, I made my way back to the camp where Morrigan was nowhere to be found. I crossed over to my bedroll and tucked myself inside, watching Franklin twitch in his sleep as I slowly drifted off.

Everything that had happened eventually made its way to the back of my mind where it sat in a haze of dreams, my own weariness casting doubts on whether or not anything had actually happened.


"Goooood morning!" sung Darrian, waking everyone up. "Rise and shine team Warden, we've got a big day ahead of us and the boat has just pulled in!"

I groaned as I rose from my bed, silently wishing for another hour or so of magical sleep. Franklin whined and looked at me pleadingly, but I had to shake my head. "Sorry buddy… Darrian's the leader, so we have to go."

Darrian certainly seemed very chipper this morning, and I had no idea why. He noticed me looking at him with curiosity so he walked over with his arms extended and pulled me into a friendly hug (though it got to a point where, for me, it crossed that line and came into uncomfortable territory).

"I suppose you're wondering why I am so happy," he said serenely.

I nodded. "You could say that. I'll admit I am a little jealous," I added with a laugh.

He clapped me on the shoulder, squeezing gently. "To be honest, I don't know why. I've just got a good feeling about today."

"Good to know," I said with a warm smile.

I heard someone calling out in the distance, an unknown voice that sounded in danger.

"Can you hear that?" I asked, looking around warily.

Darrian nodded, and the two of us spun on our feet to face a terrified looking woman who had come sprinting through the trees.

"Oh, thank the Maker," exclaimed the woman. "We need help! They attacked the wagon! Please help us!"

Darrian nodded to me, asking the woman to lead us to the attack site. I rounded up everyone else and we followed a short while to a generously sized field, surrounded by high rocks and trees. The woman stepped up to the side of an elven man, and nodded.

She turned to us, wickedness etched upon her thin face. Evidently, something was very wrong here.

Darrian stepped around us protectively, holding his arms out wide and watching carefully. The strange elven man made a short hand gesture and in seconds we were surrounded by many assassins. "The Grey Warden dies here!" he shouted.

Out of the corner of my eye I spotted several men heaving on a very old looking tree. "Move!" I screamed, diving out of the way and pulling Franklin with me. I hit the earth with a thump and quickly checked to ensure that everyone else was safe before leaping to my feet.

"Let's do this!" cried Darrian, swinging his sword in a wide arc.

I ran to the side of the field and launched a volley of arrows up to the bandits that were standing on higher footing, grinning as two of them fell to the ground clutching their wounds. I had merely scratched the other one, and he jumped down in front of me with his sword and shield in hand.

He swung twice, two slow yet heavy blows that I was easily able to dodge, but on the third strike he made a lunge for my gut that only just made contact and left a shallow wound in my centre. I rolled out of the way just in time to avoid a devastating shield bash that would have knocked me out completely, hurling a small fireball at him as he went by.

It knocked the shield from his grip, sending it skidding along the leafy ground and ending up beneath a small bush. Without the mobility loss that his shield presented, my duel partner was able to move much faster – but he was also far easier to read without a massive piece of metal blocking my view of his body. I could see his arms tense as he moved forward, aiming a vertical slice right in the middle of my body.

This was too easy. I struck outward with the shaft of my bow, laughing at the dull whack it made as it connected with the side of his head. He dropped to one knee, opening up his neck briefly and allowing me to jam an arrow right into the exposed flesh.

I was in the process of yanking it out when another man came after me, this time swinging a rather nasty looking mace. He ran at me fast, so I stepped out of the way and stuck out my leg, causing him to tumble over.

I was enjoying this far too much for it to be normal. I could feel the blood pumping through my veins, my adrenaline giving me a massive boost to my power. My fingertips crackled with lightning and I could see the sudden fear in the man's eyes, because he knew that his life was in my hands – I had all the power.

He shook violently as the electrical energy fried him, utterly destroying him from the inside out. I looked down at my hands, admiring the sheer strength of will that I had just unleashed.

"I'm sure glad you're on our side," said Darrian, slightly uneasily. "Come on, one of them is still alive. I've a few things I wanna ask him."

Darrian led me to the wounded elf, who was unconscious and wounded, but alive. "Does someone want to wake him?" he asked.

"I'll do it," I said, picking up a large stick and prodding him with it.

He stirred gently. "Mmm… What? I… ohhh… I really thought I would wake up dead, or not wake up at all as the case may be. But I see you haven't killed me yet."

I looked at Darrian, and he seemed to be struggling with something. "Quiet! You'll answer when spoken to!"

What the? I didn't expect Darrian to reply that way, but then again this man did just try to kill him.

"Ah. So it is questions for me, is it?" responded the elven man. "While I do enjoy a good beating from a handsome brute, let me save you a bit of time and get right to the point."

I swear I just saw Darrian blush a little bit. Judging by the reactions of my companions, they had picked up on it too. Darrian was head over heels.

The elf picked up on this too and a small grin lit up his face. "My name is Zevran. Zev to my friends. I am a member of the Antivan crows, brought here for the sole purpose of slaying any surviving Grey Wardens. Which I have failed at, sadly."

"I am rather happy you failed," replied Darrian.

"So would I be, in your shoes. For me, however, sets a rather poor precedent, doesn't it? Getting captured by a target seems a tad detrimental to one's budding assassin career."

Darrian stood there silently for a moment before he spoke again. "What are the Antivan Crows?" he asked.

"I can tell you that," said Leliana, stepping forward. "They are an order of assassins out of Antiva. Very powerful and renowned for always getting the job done… so to speak. Someone went to great expense to hire this man."

Zevran shifted uncomfortably on the ground, his restraints perhaps a little too tight. "Quite right," he said. "I'm surprised you haven't heard much of the Crows out here. Back where I come from, we're rather infamous."

Darrian chuckled. "Not for being very good assassins, I see."

"Oh, fine!" replied Zevran. "Is that what you Fereldans do? Mock your prisoners? Such cruelty."

Darrian knelt down, sword in hand and got to work removing the ropes that bound Zevran.

"What!?" exclaimed Alistair. "You're taking the assassin with us now? Does that really seem like a good idea?"

I don't think Darrian liked that, especially when Alistair questioned his decisions. "You're here aren't you? Collecting cast-offs is what I do."

"Ow…" replied Alistair. "Maybe true, but… ow. Whatever. I'm sure you know best."

"Welcome, Zevran," added Leliana. "Having an Antivan Crow join us sounds like a fine plan."

"Oh, you are another companion to be, then? I wasn't aware such loveliness existed amongst adventurers, surely," replied Zev.

"Or maybe not," snapped Leliana. I quickly gave her a sneaky thumbs up for that.

"Just one more thing before we set off," I said, finally breaking my silence. Zevran regarded me with a look of what I thought was mild admiration. "Who hired you?"

"A rather taciturn fellow in the capital. Loghain, I think his name was? Yes, that's it. I have no idea what his issues are with you. I assume you threaten his power, no? Beyond that, I'm not loyal to him. I was contracted to perform a service."

"Are there… any other services you can provide?" asked Darrian, grinning widely.

"You'll just have to find out," replied Zevran, winking.

Well, the two of them were going to get along quite well. I just hoped they wouldn't be too noisy during the night, I needed my sleep damnit. We healed Zevran as best we could, not doing too much though because we knew we had higher quality poultices hidden back at the campsite. Zevran insisted that Darrian lead the group, while he would trail directly behind him. They were definitely off to a great start.

On the way back, I heard Zevran mention something about knowing several different massage techniques, and in those words I knew that Zevran would be one of my favourite people to travel with.

And that was the start of one of my greatest friendships.


A/N: Sorry for the delay in posting, with the auction and a friend of mine going to hospital, as well as my newest fic Wings (Supernatural, Destiel, my OTP) I just kinda fell behind with this one, so sorry about that! Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!

Trishata96: Well, now that Zev has joined the party, hopefully that means Alistair might be left alone... but we all know how naughty Zevran can be! I think he'll be a bad (or good, depending on who you are) influence on Darrian!

The Dark Door: Haha I had hoped the last chapter was fun, I hadn't written anything that light-hearted in this fic yet so I thought it was long overdue... Also, to be honest I was a little nervous about writing the whole shapeshifting thing! I'm glad to hear that you thought it was well done. As always, thanks for the cookies and the review! I look forward to see ing what you leave on each chapter, you always make me smile :)

So there you have it, Chapter 12 of the Fox and the Crow, and the girls are both starting to try and entice Fox! And what of the mysterious fox spirit? What - or who - is it? I'm actually really excited about it, and I hope you all enjoy what happens when the time comes. Until then, thank you so very very much for reading this, and an even bigger thank you to all of you lovely folk who followed or favorited this story and/or myself! Y'all are like the Timon to my Pumba!

Peace out!