Guest: Thanks! It was a hard decision to make, just how awkward do I make it? But I think that I found a nice balance :D

Chapter 13

Catherine and Amelie walked arm in arm as they walked towards the stables. They were in Hightown but nowhere near the Keep. You had to go past the Chantry, so it was a good place for Amelie to keep out the way but still keep herself busy. Garrett had nipped in to talk to Aveline about the whole situation and promised to meet them at the stables later. Fenris felt a little awkward walking with them, as Catherine made it very clear that she was intrigued about what happened the night before; she wouldn't stop talking about it. Amelie tried to deviate the conversation onto horses and it worked for a few minutes, the closer they got.

'I wonder what breeds they have,' she said to Catherine excitedly. 'I remember that I saw Donna on an Free Marches Ranger, it was a wonderful caramel colour,' she said in happiness. 'Oh I wonder if there's a Donna here,' she asks looking back at Fenris.

'I have no heard of a guard called Donna,' he says in reply to her question which wasn't really a question. 'Then again I do not know all the guards,' Fenris adds shrugging a shoulder. Catherine squeaked and slapped Amelie on the arm.

'I heard Aveline talking about a man called Donnic! What if that's this world's Donna?' She said in a very high pitched tone. Amelie's widened and they both chattered happily. Fenris would be glad to leave the two twittering women be, but he was needed by Garrett and he was curious to see Amelie with the horses. Once at the stables, Garrett appeared a few minutes afterwards, as Amelie introduced herself to the stable master on duty. The smell was potent in the stable and the sounds of horses was almost deafening.

'Aveline says it's fine if Amelie wants to help out,' he says in a slight pant. He waves at a few familiar guards and watches as Catherine takes a few steps back from the mare that stuck her head out from her box and snuffed her hair. 'Are you not comfortable around horses?' He asks her softly.

'I don't mind them, I just don't want to be bald by the time I leave,' she says simply rubbing the mare's nose gingerly. 'I used to have to shoe the horses back at the other Keep. Most the horses were friendly enough, but occasionally I'd lose a clump of hair.' Garrett chuckles and wraps his arm around her waist. Fenris watches as Amelie goes over to a stall and coos at the horse inside. He walks over, making sure to put his feet where he can see stone and not step on any suspicious hay.

'Fenris! Look!' Amelie says as she beckons the large beast forward. 'It's an Anderfel Courser! Isn't he wonderful? They were bred for the Grey Wardens, I wonder how you ended up here,' she says as he sniffs her hair. The stallion was a white colour but with dark brown patches and light hair, curiously he nibbled her auburn curls. Amelie giggled and stroked his neck. 'Aww, you big softy,' she smiles. Fenris raised a brow. The horse was almost twice her size, but she wasn't daunted at all. The stable master walked over quickly.

'Easy, m'lady, he can be a bit jittery,' he warns watching the horse carefully.

Amelie gave him a look, 'of course he will be, I doubt he gets enough fresh air. Where's his halter?' She says in a voice that wasn't going to be denied. The stable master pulls a concerned face put nods to the wall. He looks at Fenris and guesses that the woman will be safe enough with him around. Amelie grins at the elf and bounces over to the halter and grabs it, she has to stand on the gate to get it over the Courser's ears and the bit into his mouth. It was clear he wasn't used to it as he tongued it for a moment or two.

'Are you sure about this?' Fenris asks warily. He had been around horses and this one looked like he wanted to bolt. Amelie gave him a massive smile and tucked her fringe behind her ear.

'Relax, I'm a Hawke and we're just as stubborn as horses,' she laughs as she takes the leash and opens the door to the stall. She stands in the way and when he paws the ground anxiously she stands firm and matches his gaze. He throws his head around a little in protest and whinnies. Amelie simply lifts a brow and tilts her head. After a moment or two he calms down, she strokes his neck as she leads him to the paddock. Fenris realised that his mouth was open a little and he closed it with a click. He looked at Garrett and Catherine who were just as shocked. The stallion was a giant compared to Amelie but she didn't even flinch. The mage walked past them all with the horse in tow and when she got outside into the empty paddock she let him off and watched him run in joy. The stable master walked up to her and they shared a few words. Fenris shook his head and walked carefully out after her, Garrett and Catherine following. The smell was a lot cleaner out here and it was lighter too in the midday sun.

'See what did I tell you? She has been around horses her whole life and I think that she would be perfect here,' Catherine says leaning on Garrett. He nods his agreement and leans on the fence. Amelie was content to watch him run around and stretch his limbs. Fenris stood with his arms crossed as he watched not the horse, but her. Loose curls waved in the wind and she wore a smile that seemed to light up her eyes. Amelie whistled to the horse and clicked her tongue. He was clearly not used to being called and stopped in his tracks. Amelie giggled and called him again, this time showing him a small sugar lump she had gotten from the horse master. He neighed in her direction lightly and trotted over, he took the sugar lump happily and crunched it as Amelie stroked his mane, what she could reach on her tip toes. Catherine looked at the guys and grinned. 'Hey Ami, show them what you used to do when you were at the mountain, when your horse wouldn't stop,' she laughed. Both Garrett and Fenris looked at the Smith in question and Amelie's smile turned cheeky.

'Okay, but they're not to freak out,' she laughs as she lets the Courser go, slapping him a little on the rump so he canters off. Fenris' felt a little dread run through him as he caught hold of Amelie's calculating expression. He could only watch in wonder as the Courser runs past Amelie and without hesitation, she jumps towards the creature, grabbing his mane and pulling herself gracefully up onto his back, even though it was bare. She gripped onto his mane at the roots tightly as she held on by her knees, balancing herself as he ran.

'Holy shit!' Garrett laughs. 'I haven't done that since I was fourteen!' He claps his hands in appreciation. 'Wow, if Varric was here I think he would be having a spasm the book wouldn't be written fast enough.' Catherine grins and stands on the fence holding out her hand. Amelie slaps it in a high five as the stallion rides past. He was a little flighty of her, being on his back, but she wasn't heavy and it wasn't like he was wearing a saddle. Catherine whooped as Amelie directed him past the fence again. She was laughing in joy, it was a nice change to the last few days of tears and anger. Fenris smiled properly and watched as she rode the beast with ease. Her stature and frame would make most think what she was doing impossible. He had never felt this fleeting amusement and mixture of carefree emotions before. Watching someone do something for the exhilarating joy of the moment. With a slight tug of his mane, as she leant back, Amelie coaxed the Courser into slowing down. He began to trot and then walk, breathing heavily through his nose. He wasn't exercised enough that much was clear. Amelie patted and scratched behind his ear. Once he stopped she slid off his back and walked over to the fence, where by standing on the bottom rung she could lean over and hug her friend.

'That was amazing! I got chills!' Catherine laughs as she hugs her. 'I bet that felt great,' she added.

'It was, I haven't done it in so long, I mean it hurt a little bit because of my back. But sooo worth it!' She chattered. 'They've got to let me do it now,' she laughs as the Courser trots over and snuffles her in hope of more sugar, effectively trapping her against the fence.

'Don't worry Amelie, Aveline has already said yes and I am totally sure you can handle yourself,' Garrett chuckles as he walks over and strokes the horse's nose. 'I am impressed, I haven't done that since I was young. You must have kept that up,' he grins.

'It was helpful seeing as I'm a little smaller than most horses,' she smiles. 'It was easier to do it when they're moving than when they're standing still. Momentum,' Amelie adds. 'Works every time. Mostly.' She looks over at Fenris who gave her a half smile and nodded. It made her heart skip, but instead of lingering on the feeling she had to push the Stallions nose away from the pouch on her skirt.

'Oh that's a point,' Catherine says with a wicked grin. 'Uh next time you might want to wear leggings. You kinda flashed your arse as you got on and off,' she announces happily. Amelie's eyes widened as she looked at Fenris, then her skirt, then the horse. She clapped her hands down on the material as her cheeks erupted in blush.

'Oh Andraste's nipple tassels,' she whimpered as she got off the fence and took the leash. 'Come on, I had better put you back,' she says a little louder than her cursing. The Courser continued to nose her hair and skirt pouch, much to Amelie's distress and batting away. Garrett laughed and tickled Catherine for a brief moment as she jumped from the fence.

'That was cruel,' he said as Amelie was out of ear shot. 'We didn't see anything,' he chuckles as she squirms.

'No, but she looked straight at Fenris when I said it,' Catherine laughed pushing him away. Catherine looked around. 'Oh, he's gone,' she says giving Garrett a look. He shrugs and rolls his eyes.

'Oh leave them alone, it's bad enough they have us as friends, if we want something to happen we need to back off,' He says simply. 'Besides, I didn't think you liked Fenris.'

'Well, it's hard, I mean, he's a total twonk at moments, but I can see that Ami likes him and who knows. They could be good for each other,' she says as she hugs him. 'Y'know?' Garrett nods as he returns her hug, wondering what was going on. For the second time that day.

…

'There's a good boy,'Amelie says as she stands on the gate and takes off the halter, gingerly taking the bit out his mouth, he rotated his jaw a couple of times. 'Doesn't taste good huh?' She says conversationally. 'Well if we invented a sugar tasting one I'd never get it out your mouth,' she says as she rubs his nose. 'Here, one last sugar lump before I go,' she says reaching around to her pouch. She gives it to him and smiles as she hears it crunch before getting down and hanging up his halter. She turns and jumps in fright as Fenris is silently watching her. 'Holy-! Maker's breath!' She swore, hand on her heart. 'Fenris! Are you trying to kill me?' She asks as she tries to calm down. He smirks a little and looks over his shoulder to see if anyone was watching them. It was just a few curious horses peering over their stalls. He moved closer to her.

'I did not mean to scare you,' he says softly. There was something different now. After seeing her so carefree and happy, a side of her that he hadn't seen before. Everything that had happened before now had been drenched in fear, anger, blood and tears. Even last night came about after bloodshed. 'You looked...' he began trying to find the right word, but he wasn't any good at this sort of thing. Amelie tilted her head and smiled softly at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. 'You looked...' He reached out and touched her cheek gently. He had found the right word he was looking for. It needed a slight change to his sentence to work though. 'You are beautiful,' he says softly.

Amelie blushed deeply and tried to look at the floor, but he wouldn't let her. 'Thank you,' she says through a light breath. Fenris stares at her reddening cheeks and her eyelashes fluttered as she tried not to blink too much. Aware that anyone could catch them at any moment he settled for simply leaning into her, one hand cupping her cheek, the other on her waist as he presses his forehead down onto hers. As much as Amelie would have loved to have stayed like that, she knew that the other two would come looking. 'I have to go,' she murmurs, touching her hand against the one holding her cheek. He nodded and backed away, allowing her to move.

'We...can talk later...if you want,' he says, Amelie noticing that his cheeks and ears had turned a little pink. She nodded stating that she would like that a lot. It made her look forward to the rest of the day and her uneasy feeling about last night was dwindling. They wandered out the stables, ignoring the other two and their very pointed looks. They could think what they wanted, it didn't matter.

…

Garrett and Fenris left the girls in Hightown market. Amelie rolled her eyes as she waited for her friend to put down her alternate self. It lasted for a few minutes and made Amelie and Fenris feel a little awkward that was for sure. Finally Catherine bounded over to the mage who gave her friend a raised brow. Amelie had to settle for waving a goodbye. It's not what she wanted to do but it was really the only thing she could do. Catherine looped her arm through hers and spun her away into the market.

'What did you need to talk to Varric for then?' Amelie says distracting herself from the goodbye and focusing on the now. Right at this moment she needed to shop convincingly.

'Well Hightown is a lot different here, things are in the opposite place or a totally different place altogether. Who better to ask then the man in the Merchant's Guild,' she says tilting her head as she looks at some jewellery on a stand. 'So I described the shops that I wanted to go to and Varric told me what they're called, where they are etc. Oh! Did you know it's called the Blooming Rose here? Not the Gilded Lily,' Catherine grins.

'No way? Really? Wow, that clears up a lot of what Garrett has been saying after all,' Amelie laughs as she shakes her head. 'I'm surprised you've only just found out, did you ask Varric? Is that a store you want to visit?' She asks sarcastically. She's rewarded with a prod into the ribs.

'Ha ha, the only one here who needs to visit that place is you. There's probably a few cute elves there who would be more than willing to give you some needed practice,' she says wickedly. 'Actually by the looks of it there's probably another elf closer to home who would be very happy-'

'Okay, that's enough out of you,' Amelie says simply clapping her hand over her friend's mouth and wincing as her palm was licked. She steered them away from the stall and rolled her eyes, taking her hand from Catherine. She wiped her palm on her skirt and pulled a face. 'Come on, let's shop and spend money that isn't ours. What one first?' She asks as Catherine points to a shop window that was hidden slightly out of sight. By the lack of display in the window, it showed more colours and materials than products; Amelie could tell it was a ladies' under garment boutique. 'Oh no,' she mumbled. 'I remember last time we went to one of these, everything is so impractical. How are you supposed to slaughter a high dragon or an ogre, when you have the equivalent of string up your arse?' And the bras provide no support what so ever,' Amelie says dragging her feet a little. Catherine cackles and pulls her harder.

'You won't be slaughtering the masses, and I know you always wear a binder, but you do actually have some sort of tit size. It was about time that those puppies were properly looked after. Wrapped in silk and lace, you'll look like a pretty little present just ready to be opened,' Catherine grins. 'I know who would want to do the unwrappi- Ow! Bitch!' She laughs feeling the kick to the shin, 'that was mean.'

'No, forcing me in here and paying ridiculous amounts of money for such little materiel is what is mean,' Amelie retaliated. She knew she was going to go in no matter what she tried. It didn't stop her fighting each step of the way. 'You're going to pay for this and I don't mean with money,' she grunted as she was shoved into the door. Catherine merely smirked and giggled in reply as they entered the emporium.

…

'Well that was weird,' Amelie stated as they sat on a wall between two shops. Catherine nodded. Anything they had bought they had sent to either the mansion or Hawke's estate, there was no point carrying loads of bags around. Amelie did have a small paper bag in her lap and she took out the box. 'I mean, this was the most popular fragrance back in our world, yet here, they had to go out back. It was so cheap, look at the size of the bottle! I mean, not really complaining, it's my favourite, and soooo cheap,' she said happily as she took the glass bottle out the box. 'Thank you Cat, I'll give you some money back when I earn it from the Yard,' she promised. Catherine rolled her eyes and watched as Amelie dabbed the perfume on. Catherine looked at the sky, it was getting late, they had been shopping for hours and there were very people around, she figured it was safe to talk without worrying about ruining someone's future.

'Oh please, I know how much you like this perfume. You wore it almost everyday for seven years back there. It's been strange being near you and not smelling it. Oh, and the reason it's not popular? They don't have a Vicountess here, it's a man. They have a Viscount,' Catherine explains. 'He's not exactly going to be wearing woman's perfume now, well not in public,' she adds with a grin. Amelie giggled and began to put the perfume back in the box. There was a sharp cracking noise and Amelie froze for a second before slumping forward, her perfume bottle slipping from her hands and smashing against the cobbles. The sweet, flowery scent engulfed them both, Catherine jumped and immediately went to Amelie's side. Blood dripped from Amelie's curls, staining her skin and the stone beneath her. Catherine looked around and saw the thug slip back into the shadows. Catherine pulled out a dagger from her boot and spun it in her hands. 'Come and get it you cowards,' she hissed in anger. Amelie was still breathing, but she was out cold.

'We were told to get the mage, wot about the other one?' One brute said to the another who shrugged.

'Grab 'er. More hostages, more money. He can decide wot he wants to do with 'er,' he says moving forward to Catherine who was beginning to realise that she was seriously outnumbered. There were at least six of them and she only had a dagger. Two were going to be going home with a limp, but the odds weren't looking good. One of them reached down to pick up Amelie and Catherine slashed with her blade, the confrontation was brief and a little bloody. Being outnumbered meant that soon both women were picked up and hoisted over shoulders, blood dripped from Amelie's hand, her hair bleeding onto her arm. Catherine, now knocked out had a few bruises blooming on her skin. Hostages captured, the group ignored the mess they had made and disappeared into the shadows.

The happiness didn't last long huh xD

Well the girls have been captured. There's going to be a lot more blood and angst in the future chapter. I've also got a little something planned. History is going to come biting.

Please review and let me know what you think.