The Daughter of Tethras

Disclaimer: Don't own Dragon Age

A/N:

Chapter 20 (First Friends)

Bianca squinted her eyes at a strange creature running about. It had long ears like spoons, a short and rounded snout, and a small body with a ringed and bushy tail. "What are these things?" She'd seen many of them in the wild and always thought they were adorable, but never stopped to ask about them.

Sera and Cole snuck up behind her, studying the creature as well. "It's a fennec, a relative to the fox." Bianca raised an eyebrow and Sera tilted her head. "You've never seen a fennec before?"

"She hasn't the opportunity," Cole replied, "Her adopted parents and the carta kept her hidden from the world." Bianca rolled her eyes and shot him a glare. He dropped his shoulders and bowed his head. "Sorry. I can't help that I sense your sadness."

Sera's nose twitched and her hand tightened around her bow. "He's freaking you out too?"

Bianca shrugged and looked back to the fennec, watching as it grazed on the grass. "It's cute. Do you think people can keep them as pets?" She wanted one, but since they were wild creatures it might not be something that could be a pet. "I would love to take care of one."

"Maybe ask Varric. He's involved with merchants, right? He might know someone that sells domesticated fennecs."

"I agree," Cole said with quick enthusiasm. "I've seen people with fennecs in their homes before." Sera looked at him with suspicion and he shrugged in reply. "I've been places too, you know."

"Really?" Sera looked deadpan for a moment and lowered her bow. "I would have thought you stayed in the tavern's attic all day." Cole folded his arms and made a comment about her doing the same.

As the two continued to bicker, Bianca couldn't help but to watch with a smile on her face. It was the first time she truly felt like she had friends, the first time she felt she could enjoy someone else's company without a great deal of trouble.

For the first time she wasn't looking over her shoulder out of fear, and it was amazing.

Sera and Cole stopped their banter and looked towards her with surprise as if she were eavesdropping a crucial moment. "Let's not argue," Cole suggested with a smile. "I hear you're going to the Winter Palace soon. Are you looking forward to it?"

"Yeah I am." She hadn't thought much on who she would be taking with her, aside from her father. "I like Cassandra and Solas pretty well, so I think I'll ask if they want to come along with me-I know Dad's going."

Sera smirked and rolled her head to the right. "'Dad'? He's already on 'dad' status with you?" The blood rushed to her face and she quickened her tone to defend her stance, but stammered over a few words.

"Well he's been there for me a lot already, and we're getting along…"

Sera cackled and smacked her on the shoulder. "I'm only teasing. Relax." The blonde elf smiled softly. "It's good that you're finally getting to be with your dad, although you're out here with us when you could be spending some time with him…"

"I promised you guys I'd explore outside the castle with you once I was done talking to Hawke."

"We get it. It's fun out here." Cole hummed softly and whispered something about being watched. Bianca's heart stopped and she scanned the area with her eyes as Sera turned her head. "Who's around, then?"

Nearby was a patch of high grass swaying in the cool breeze. It swished violently as though something forced it to the side. Sera's gaze darted over and she raised her bow and arrow. "Out of the grass!"

Bianca grabbed the grip of her axe and braced herself for an attack when she saw the flash of metal in the sun followed by the slicking of metal. Given two flashes, she knew this person was somebody that wielded daggers.

She grew tense and called out expectantly. "If that's you, Lantos, I'm not afraid of you."

"Lantos?" The answer was feminine, so she was able to relax for the moment. The figure hiding in the grass stood slowly, revealing herself to be a tall elf with short red hair that hid her ears from view. She had a thin face, sharp golden eyes and slightly sunken cheeks. "I don't know who that is, but I apologize if I frightened you."

Bianca released her grip and looked over at Sera, who kept her arrow aimed on the woman. "Why were you spying on us?" Sera asked. "Who are you?"

"My name is Lavellan. Jade." Jade put her hand to her chest and closed her eyes. "I was on my way to the castle when I saw you. I don't have much luck with explorers, so I hid." Sera lowered her bow and narrowed her eyes.

"You frightened my friend."

"Not really," Bianca replied under her breath. "Just startled." She crossed her arms and motioned to Skyhold. "You were looking for the Inquisition?"

"Yes." Jade pat down her shirt, sighing heavily. "I heard they were taking people in. My…clan kicked me out." Jade's eyes darted to the side and her shoulders fell. "They wanted me to go to the conclave for information against the humans, but I said no."

"No?"

"I don't exactly agree with their ideas." Jade folded her forearms over her stomach and rolled her eyes. "Hate the humans for some bullshit that happened before any of us were born. I get it, but I was sick of them pushing their opinions down my throat. I was just looking for a reason to leave my clan, they constantly put me down and cast me aside because I thought differently."

Sera started laughing, but it was a joyous laugh that was laced with a loud cackle. "Amazing! A Dalish elf that doesn't have her head so far up her ass that she can't talk to people!" Jade's eyebrow rose and she turned to face Sera.

"You don't agree with your kind?"

"You two have a lot in common already," Cole said with a smirk. "Sera, why don't you show her into Skyhold?" Jade's eyebrows moved together and she pointed to her daggers.

"I can hunt, by the way. So if you need me to benefit somehow, I offer hunting skills. I know how to gather herbs as well. I certainly don't want to be a liability."

Sera curled a finger over her chin and started to circle the woman. Her eyes travelled down and her eyebrows shot up. "You don't look so scrawny either." Jade glanced over her shoulder and smirked back.

"You don't look so bad yourself."

"You're young for someone leaving your clan."

"I'll be twenty in a year."

Sera dropped her hand and rushed towards the castle. "Come with me, I'll show you around." Jade followed after her, leaving Bianca watching in amusement. It didn't take much to see the blonde was somehow drawn to the new elf-amazingly considering the girl's adamant distaste for Dalish.

Cole walked forward, gazing at where the two girls ran off to. "She's looking for a place to belong," he said with a sigh. "Both of them need a home, a place where they can be safe, where they can belong. Just like you, I hope all of you can find that here."

"If I'm honest Cole, I still would prefer to be anywhere but here…but you're right, I feel safe here. Still, when this is all over, I don't know what'll happen." She'd be with her father, that much she knew. She could stop Corypheus, and then she wanted to be on her way wherever her dad went.

They walked towards a stream that was glistening under the sun. She closed her eyes to listen to the water rushing against some rocks and splashing out onto the grassy edges. "It's nice to have a moment to myself once in a while."

Cole stepped beside her and she opened her eyes. A heavy sigh fell from her smiling lips, and her eyes travelled to the puffy clouds in the air. She had been on the surface long enough that unlike most dwarves, she wasn't afraid of the sky. It was fun to see that of all things, she didn't fear the sky falling on her head or herself floating away.

She looked back at the magnificent castle with its towers reaching high into the blue air. "This is amazing, Cole. I've never felt so…what's the word?"

"Alive?"

"Yeah." At the mouth of the castle she spotted Sandal walking from the gate. Her heart skipped and she nudged the boy beside her. "Look, it's Sandal." Cole's eyebrow rose and he shrugged.

"Okay? Talk to him?"

She paused and thought on whether or not Cole was the type of person to have this kind of chat with. Sera maybe, hell even Scout Harding was perhaps better at talking about boys than Cole would be.

She ponded the subject until Sandal spotted her and waved. "There you are Bianca. We haven't had a chance to talk since arriving at Skyhold." Just then she heard a poof noise and looked to see Cole vanish. She squinted her eyes and shook her head before approaching Sandal.

"Yeah, I was just thinking about that. It's good to see you made it here, I assume with your wares?" He leaned against a nearby rock, bending his elbow flat on the top.

"Yep." His right foot hooked over his left and his gaze fell into hers, drawing her in for the moment. She acknowledged the attraction she had to him, but she still second guessed herself on the matter. She didn't trust relationships much, nor did she think she would be able to have a successful one, so this 'crush' of hers might just be one that would never pan out.

"Nice to see you're getting some downtime here, Bianca."

She leaned forward a bit and chuckled softly. "Well I was spending my time with a couple friends, but as you can see…" She extended her arms sideways and dropped her shoulders. "They've abandoned me."

Sandal laughed for a moment, then pointed down the stream. "Then, would you care to walk with me?" She hummed thoughtfully, turning her eyes towards the castle. There wasn't anything about going off with him that felt unsettling, then Varric and Leliana both seemed to know him, so he could certainly be trusted.

"Sure, I've got time. As long as you don't try to attack me."

"I wouldn't do that to you."

They started their walk, with her between him and the stream. She wanted to say how beautiful the day was, but then she felt like talking about the weather would be a bit cliché.

"So…" She ran her hand over the back of her neck and peered over the water. "You um, you know my father." Sandal asked her to elaborate. "Varric." She dropped her hand and smiled as his eyes grew. "He's my birth father."

"That would explain the look of death I was receiving when I met you." He scratched his chin and smirked casually. "Here I thought it was just annoyance at my managing to be here." Bianca laughed as Sandal pulled his wrists behind his back. "Yeah, I know him back from my 'enchantment' days with my own dad."

"You knew Hawke as well?"

"Yep. Leliana too, while we're at it. Dad and I sold to the Hero of Ferelden himself. We were personal 'servants' to the Champion…" Sandal looked down the river and his body shifted as a chuckle escaped his lips. "Suffice to say, I can only imagine the envy my father would have if he knew I was working with the Inquisition."

"Have you spoken to him recently?"

"No. I thought about sending a letter, but I feel like anything I do will just have him demanding I return to him." They stopped next to a large tree and Sandal turned around, crossing his arms and leaning back against the trunk. "I love my father, don't get me wrong, but I need to do this on my own."

"You're with us, surely he'd be proud of you."

"He'll only ever be proud if I'm standing at his side." Sandal's brow furrowed and his shoulders rose. "He doesn't think I'd ever make it on my own, really. He doesn't know how to let me expand. I can't decide if he's trying to shelter me or if he just doesn't have faith in me."

"I see." She understood a bit of it, but overall his drive to be away from his dad was almost opposite of her. "So, you're trying to be separate from him?"

"I'm trying to find my own identity. Carve out my own path. I don't want to be known as the weird son of Bodahn, otherwise nobody will take me serious."

"I suppose I understand." She sat beside the tree and leaned her right shoulder into it. Her legs folded beneath her and her forearms rested gently in her lap while she peered at the large field across the stream. Sandal looked down at her with a smile. "I've been figuring out who I am as well, or trying to anyway."

"You have many names, it seems."

"You're not kidding." She laughed nervously and ended with a sigh. "Andraste's Herald, 'Inquisitor', and…" She narrowed her eyes and sneered. "'Worship'." A groan flew from her lips and she rolled her eyes. "I can't stand it."

"Well if it's any consolation, I won't worship you. Unless of course, you want me to." She rolled her eyes and looked towards his smirking expression with a smirk of her own. His smirk faded and he turned his head back towards the stream. A solemn expression came over him and his eyes turned to a slant. "You're lucky, you know. Finding your real father. Mr. Tethras is a good guy too."

"Do you know your real parents?"

"I only have vague memories of them." Sandal's shoulders and arms fell and his eyes closed. "They were smiths, or my mother was. She was lost in the deep roads a couple years before the blight and my father was a drunk, as far as I know. I can remember back to the age of five, and that's about it."

"So you don't have many. I'm so sorry…"

"It's alright. Bodahn found me on the surface, so I'm grateful. I think one of my parents left me for someone to find since I do remember them leaving me there…" Sandal ran his hand through his hair and drew in a deep breath. "Could be wrong. Bodahn always said he knew my parents, but never actually spoke about them. Aside from what I just told you." Her eyes moved downcast and her brow furrowed.

"Did you ever want to find them? Or, your dad, actually?"

"Thought about it when the blight started, but my father was quick to suggest my father probably either drank himself to death or was killed by darkspawn, as if he couldn't possibly survive."

"And Bodahn was good to you as you grew up, I guess, so really he's more your dad than anything." He nodded his reply and she looked away. "My adoptive parents were horrible to me. They'd hit me when I wouldn't do what they wanted, they'd berate me at every turn-I was nothing to them, nothing like their real children were. So I left."

"I'm truly sorry for what you suffered with them."

"Yeah…let's talk about something else now."

"Of course." There was plenty to discuss, and plenty of time since she didn't have to leave for the Winter Palace just yet. She was enjoying the break, and enjoying this man's company as well. That said, she certainly didn't want the day to end anytime soon.

I hope you liked this chapter. Sera and Cole are fun to work with and would you say they are good people for Bianca to associate with? I hope you enjoyed the other cameo, and of course, we have Sandal. Next chapter we'll be seeing Marcus and Amelia, and I think you will enjoy what happens as a result of waking Vivienne up from her sleep...stick around and let me know what you thought of this chapter.