Once the cook told Claire and Ian they could stop working, Claire was ready to collapse, exhausted and hungry. She'd managed to get a little bit of food from Dona, but the cook was a bit overprotective of the stuff, so she didn't want to appear a glutton on her first day. She walked up to Ian, wondering how the elf managed to keep his long brown hair looking so nice after so much work.

"Is there a washroom of some sort I can get cleaned up?" She asked.

"Oh, yeah, sure, follow me." He said. She tried to keep track of where they were going, noting it was getting easier to pick out key things to remind her of where she was. Above the kitchen door was a blue and white griffin banner, and as Ian led her into the washroom, she noted there was a strange looking potted planted nearby and the door had a small chunk taken out of it.

"Thank you." She smiled at him as he shrugged and walked off. She looked around the room and saw there were actual stalls, each one with a bucket of water. There must have been more servants and maids to keep up with it all, though she did notice not all of the 'toilets' were clean. She decided to use an already used one before finding a clean bucket to wash up in. Since she was still alone, she figured it would be ok to use a little magic to dry her hair. There was no reason for her to stop using magic altogether, was there?

She put her shoes back on after soaking her sore feet and decided she would need to find shoes that actually fit and soon, since she was already getting blisters. She would heal them once she got into bed, but she couldn't just keep healing them, she needed to actually prevent it from happening. At least her dress fit and wasn't that dirty, though she figured she would have to wash it the next day. How did they do that, anyway? She had no spare clothing to wear while it dried. She sighed, figuring she'd just have to use magic for it.

What was she going to do? She had gotten a job with the Wardens, the people she was so fascinated by, only to feel completely lost and like she should leave. She wasn't meant for working in the kitchen, though she didn't know what she was meant for. What was someone outside the time-line supposed to do? She started absentmindedly picking at the hem on her dress, getting lost in her thoughts and being completely oblivious to the Warden who walked in

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize anyone was in here!" The man said. Claire jerked her head up to lock her gaze with black, scary eyes. She jumped up, knocking over the stool she'd been sitting on, and started stammering.

"N-no, it's all right, I'm done." She said. "Th-there's plenty for everyone, anyway." She blushed and dropped her gaze to the floor as she hurried for the door. The Warden stepped in front of her, blocking her path, and she felt her heart stop as she tried to figure out what he wanted. At least with Tyranius, she knew what he expected of her, but how was she supposed to react to the Wardens?

"You don't need to leave on my account." He said, his voice gentle. "I didn't mean to startle you. My name is Jasper." She looked up at him, seeing his expression was one of curiosity, nothing more.

"I'm Claire." She said, laughing nervously. "Sorry, I'm not used to anything yet. They haven't even told me where I get to sleep."

"Hmm, I suppose I should show you, then." He said. "You look like you could use a good night's sleep. Just wait for me in the hall, I'll be right out." She nodded and stepped out, shutting the door behind her. The hall was empty and she was glad for it. She was amazed that she was having such a reaction to being in close proximity to people again, though she supposed it shouldn't be a surprise, all things considered. She had spent quite a bit of time as a slave, even treated as such while an apprentice, then spent who knows how long alone on the road, sleeping in trees and bushes and living on dry tack, trying to get back to Ferelden.

Ferelden was quite different from Tevinter, and Denerim was very different from the Wilds. It was a culture she only knew a little about because of the games, and it had been just over nine years since she had played those. She was surprised she remembered as much as she did.

"Daydreaming again?" Jasper asked, smiling as Claire jumped.

"Sorry, I'm just tired." She said.

"So why are you here, working?" He asked.

She shrugged. "I was looking for work because, well, I need to be able to eat somehow, right? And I wandered into the courtyard, but when I turned to leave, Grey Warden Stefen stopped me and took me to the commander."

"So had it not been for Stefen, you would have gone elsewhere?" He asked.

"Yeah..." She wasn't feeling much like talking, but he kept pressing.

"So where are you from?"

"I... I've been traveling a bit." She said. "But that's not something that's lucrative when one wants to actually sleep in a real bed or eat real food."

"Well we're almost to the servants' quarters, so you'll be able to sleep at least." Jasper gave her an encouraging smile and she felt herself feeling like he was someone she might be able to trust. "Have you eaten? I expect having worked in the kitchen, you probably ate well!" She cringed inside, hoping he hadn't spoken with Dona.

"Yeah, I had some food." She said, smiling back, praying her damnable stomach wasn't audible. "Better than I've eaten in weeks."

"Good, we like to keep our workers happy." He gestured to a door and Claire picked out the landmarks so she could find it the following day. "Here's the servants' quarters. I'll show you an empty bunk you can have." He opened the door and walked in, and Claire saw it was just a large room with two rows of bunk beds, with a chest in between them and another chest at the ends of each one. There were various other people milling about, getting ready for bed, paying them no mind. He pointed at one that had the sheets folded neatly at the foot of the bed.

"Here, you can have the bottom one, and the chest at the end will be yours." He said. "We do have people who take care of the bedclothes, so you won't have to worry about that, however we do expect you to clean up after yourself."

"Of course." She said.

"One more thing, can you sit on the bed?" He asked, waving his hand towards it. She looked at him, surprised, but complied, feeling her anxiety rising once more. He knelt down and grabbed her foot. She gasped as he pulled the shoe off and examined her foot. "Blisters, but not as bad as I thought. I saw how you were walking..."

"I... lost my boots..." She said. "Someone was kind enough to give me these shoes today, in exchange for a favor..."

"Your dress also looks pretty good." She tried to wrestle her foot away, but he took the other one instead, taking the shoe off.

"I also got it today, since my other one wasn't fit for seeking employment." She said. "Please, what are you doing?" She struggled to get away from him, her panic overwhelming her. Seeing her fear, he got up and sat on the bed beside her, taking her hands in his.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He said, concerned. "You don't need to be afraid of me." Claire realized she was shaking as a tear escaped, sliding down her cheek.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..."

"Maker, woman, don't apologize, either." He said, exasperated. "You're a person, just the same as everyone else. You don't need to be afraid of anyone here, nor do you need to be sorry for it. I can't imagine what kind of life you left to come here!" A life of torture, apparently. She just hadn't realized how bad off she really was. Just having him hold her hands was making her upset.

"It's going to take a lot to get used to, apparently." She said.

"I'll leave you to your sleep then." He said. "Just let us know if you need anything at all." She nodded and watched him leave, feeling confused and depressed.

"So you don't think she's a spy?" Stefen asked after Jasper had told him and the others what he'd observed with Claire while they got ready to sleep. He sounded disappointed and Jasper shook his head. The young Warden was always looking for excitement everywhere and one day he was going to find the wrong kind.

"I made her cry just by taking off her shoes." Jasper said. "She was terrified and I don't think she can handle physical contact."

"Makes me wonder what the magister did to her." Markus said. "I've heard stories... never gave them much credit until now, though."

"Let's not pry." Jasper said. "I think she just needs to be left alone for a while and shown that we can be trusted."

"Those blighted magisters, ruining the good name of mages everywhere." Cedrik grumble as he checked over his staff. "Oh sure, we can try to show her that we can be trusted, but how well has that worked for mages in general? A thousand years!" Markus rolled his eyes.

"Well fine then, you can avoid the girl altogether, if you want." Stefen said. "But from what she told me, I think you two would get along fine."

"Oh? And what did she tell you?" Cedrik was in such a bad mood, Stefen wasn't sure he wanted to answer.

"She called our treatment of mages deplorable." Stefen said, feeling smug satisfaction at Cedrik's expression. "She doesn't think they should be locked up like criminals just because we fear Tevinter. So I think it's safe to say she only dislikes Tevinters."

"Well then, don't I feel like an ass." Cedrik said. "Maybe I should talk to her after all."

"Either way, we should get some sleep, and don't bother her too much." Jasper said, crawling into his bunk. "And could one of you see that she actually eats tomorrow? I talked to Dona and she said the girl had a small bit of bread and hadn't been seen near the dinner table. I need to ask someone to get her shoes that fit... and maybe another dress..."

"Oh just go to sleep!" Markus said. "She's sounding like more of a hassle than she's worth!"

"I think we can spare five minutes a day to check on our workers." Stefen said. "We've not much better to do with our spare time, after all!" Markus grumbled in response, covering his head with his pillow.

Claire was conflicted as she wandered the Fade, wondering if she should see Anders again, especially so soon after... But she wanted to talk to someone, and he was all she had, and if she didn't talk to someone, she would end up just lying down in a depressive funk, waiting to die. Feeling a weight pressing down on her shoulders that was all too familiar, she found Anders. He ran over to her, and seemed like he wanted to hug her, but he held back.

"Claire! I didn't think to see you again so soon." He said. His hesitation made Claire feel worse, for some reason, and she was starting to regret her visit.

"I know... I just, wanted to say hi, I guess." She was having a hard time not showing her depression, and knew he saw through it.

"After that last time..." He closed the distance and hugged her. "I was worried about you. And now I can tell something is really bothering you. Is it the vision again?"

"No, I... I found the Wardens, and they gave me a job." She said, resting the side of her face on his shoulder. "Everything happened so fast, you know? I didn't expect my first day in Denerim to land me in the Warden base, I thought it would take longer... and then..."

"Did they do anything to you?" He asked, again reminding Claire of an overprotective brother.

She shook her head. "I just realized that I'm more broken than I thought... One of the Wardens made me sit on the bed so he could look at my feet, because my shoes are too small, and I freaked out... I can't handle it, Anders... I keep expecting them to want me to... do things..."

"Is my hugging you a problem?" He asked softly. She shook her head again.

"I trust you." She said. "I've known you for so long... You've never done anything to cause me to fear you." Instead, she had grown to like him more and more, and enjoyed the exhilaration she felt at his touch. He chuckled and squeezed her.

"Well that's good to know!" He said.

"I just didn't think I'd end up being such a scaredy cat." She sighed. "Me, a super powerful mage who can bend people to my will through their dreams... me, who can kill people through the Fade. Me, who can turn into animals at will, who fought through demons to discover the secret of the dragon..."

"Humans, I've found, can be the scariest things ever." Anders said. "I don't see any cats trying to lock me up, keeping me in solitary confinement..."

"True." She chuckled, then realized he was still holding her. She didn't mind, but it surprised her. Not to mention it was raising her mood a bit. "I guess I'll either have to learn how to deal with my fears, or I'll have to leave them without any answers."

"You could always try to get me out of solitary confinement..." He said.

"You know how scary that is for me!" She said, pulling away from him. "I... I don't want to screw up! It just feels like... it makes me feel dirty to mess with people and I'm terrified of messing things up." She said. "It could cost someone their life! But... do you know who would be the one to let you out? I'll at least think about it, and explore..."

The relief on his face was so evident, Claire wondered if he was going to hate her if she failed. "Thank you." He said. "I don't know how much more of this I can take... I believe you would have to find Knight-Commander Greagoir."

"I'll let you know what I find out... please though, not tonight." She said. "Please, I don't think I could handle it." He looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"As much as I want out now, I cannot force you." He said. "Nor would I want to, especially when you're already so upset. It's just hard to sit here and watch you have the power that I want so badly, and yet you do nothing with it."

"Anders..." She bit her lip, upset that he would be putting that kind of guilt on her, yet at the same time unable to fault him for it. If she didn't know the future, if she didn't know that things could go very badly if she messed with things, she would help him in a heartbeat. She would break in herself and rescue him, but she couldn't. She knew he had to go through the year, escape, get made a Grey Warden, meet Justice... oh if she could stop that from happening...

"Let's just talk about something else." He said. She could tell he was still annoyed and all her good feelings disappeared, replaced with black claws of despair dragging her down. She should have ended her life all those years ago in the Wilds. Maybe she could suicide by Warden... She was certain they would be very quick about it, and efficient.

"I should just go." Claire said. "I'm sorry I'm not very good company tonight." He grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"Don't go, please." He said. "I don't care if you aren't happy and excited all the time, and if you're depressed, all the more reason for you to stay. Any company right now is better than nothing, for both of us. I just wish I was there to comfort you in person."

"This is close." Claire said. "And I'll take it. I really missed you those two years, I don't want to lose you again. You're my only friend now."

"Friends..." He sounded almost disgusted by the word and she wondered why that would be such a bad thing, to be friends. Unless he thought of her as family... She had no idea what his thoughts on family or friends were anymore.

"You know, my parents believed that the best of friends became family." She said, hoping it would help. "They didn't believe blood was as important, especially when it was family who turned on us and our friends who were there for us. I had quite a few aunts and uncles growing up who weren't related in any way."

"That is... strangely disturbing." He said.

"How so?"

"What if one of your 'cousins' fell in love with you?" He asked. "Wouldn't that bother you, if you considered them family?"

Claire frowned, trying to figure out what his angle was. "I actually don't know... I was twelve when everything fell apart, so I wasn't all that interested in a romantic relationship. You're probably the closest I have to family and I..." She blushed, hoping he hadn't caught the gist of what she was saying. She couldn't think of him as family at all, no matter what he thought of her. Was that what he meant?

"What about that elf... Abelia, right?" He asked. "You didn't consider her family, did you?"

"No, actually, I didn't." She felt more like the elf's guardian, but because of what they were made to do together, the thought of her as a sister never crossed her mind. She was more like a lover, even though Claire never felt the way she felt about Anders towards Abelia. She thought she finally figured out what he was getting at. "I suppose it would be hard to consider a cousin as a romantic partner. You grow up with them, thinking of them as family, growing close like siblings... it doesn't stop some, I'm sure, but I think I see what you're saying."

"Do you..." He turned his back towards her, looking up at the Black City.

"Or maybe I don't." She said. "You're really confusing me."

"I'm confusing you?" He laughed. "You're the one who brought up the fact you consider friends family."

"Yes but..."

"It's just such a strange concept to me." He continued. "In the Circle, we're all just a bunch of prisoners, no family, just people we either want to kill, fuck, or ignore."

"But surely you have friends in the tower, or if not you personally, some of them." She said.

"Doesn't mean they consider each other family."

"Oh... I'm sorry I brought it up, I didn't realize..." She was having a harder time understanding him the more she visited him and tried to convince herself it was just the solitary confinement messing with his head. "Talking to you never used to be so confusing. I never know when I'm going to make you angry anymore... Maybe I lost something in those two years... maybe the solitary confinement is just getting to you, I don't know, but what I do know is I don't think this is really good for either of us, is it?"

He looked stricken. "You can't mean that." He said, panic clear in his voice. "Please, you can't leave me."

"But look at us! I just seem to keep saying the wrong thing, you're just irritated with me, yet you don't want me to leave?" She clenched her fists. "I don't know what you want from me! Do you just want me around to use me? To use my powers? Or do you actually care about me, and my feelings?"

"I do care about you." He said, grabbing her hands. "And while I may want you to use your powers to get me out of this prison, can you blame me?"

"If I refuse to help you, would you still care about me?" She asked, feeling a knot forming in her throat. Surely he couldn't care for her in the way she did for him... She daren't hope for it.

"I admit it would be difficult." He said. "But I can't just abandon you, not after so long, after all you've already done for me."

"I can't blame you, really." She said. "And I do want you out. I can't stand to see you being tormented so. Just... give me time."

"Of course!" He said. "I am sorry, for getting mad at you."

"Let's just go take a walk somewhere quiet and pretty, shall we?"