DISCLAIMER: No, I do not own any of the characters, settings, names, places, or anything in this story, really. I'm just a fan.

Chapter 8: I am Alone

Another year, another arlathvenn. Each gathering was different, this one so particularly so. Each year the turnover in clan attendance was pronounced. One one hand, it was nice to know there were so many Dalish out there, but on the other it was hard not to miss friends from years' past.

Vaela, now fifteen years old, had reached a certain level of notoriety among other clans. Her own clan, the Sabrae, had already asked other clans to refrain from speaking about her parents around her. However, the whispers surrounding her birth grew louder every year, especially with her looking and sounding more and more like her father. There was one clan, though, that noticed glaring similarities to her birth mother.

"Keeper Marethari, may we speak privately?" Keeper Azulon of the Daedra clan asked Marethari.

"Yes, of course, Azulon. What is it you need?"

"That girl, Vaela, is she the one with no parents?"

Marethari took offense to Vaela being defined by her orphan-hood, but she remained cordial. "Yes, she is. Why do you ask?"

"Her father is dead, but he didn't have any other relatives, did he?"

"You're not wrong, but I would imagine that Keeper Mahariel, Creators bless him, saw the Sabrae clan as his family."

"But you surely you would agree blood runs deeper than clan?"

Marethari raised her eyebrows. What was Azulon's point? What was he after?

"I'm just wondering," he began, "why is it this child was kept from her rightful clan once her father died?"

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You met Svana, Marethari. You know that Mahariel stole her from our clan when they married."

"That's interesting, I seem to remember the Daedra cutting off all ties with her when she married the Keeper."

"While I'm sure that you believe that, Marethari, the fact remains that Svana's brother is quite upset that you've hidden his niece and only blood relative from her people. Her true clan."

Marethari was taken completely by surprise with this news. Svana's brother? Vaela's uncle? By blood, Vaela was a part of the Daedra clan.

"We've come to take back what is rightfully ours. Vaela is one of our own, and we will have. She leaves the arlathvenn with us."

"Vaela's spent her entire life with us, and you aren't taking her away. Not over my dead body."

"Hmph… be careful, Marethari. The Daedra's reputation has been earned."

The two agreed to continue their discussion in the evening with Ashalle and Rohan, Vaela's uncle, in tow.

The arlathvenn was never too important to Vaela, her feelings unchanged since last year. She was a hunter, a good one. Clans gathering o share artifacts and stories of the past never appealed to her, which is why this year, as in every other year, she always managed to sneak away from the festivities whenever she wanted to relax or catch some sleep.

The sun was setting as she strolled through the Sabrae camp, heading towards her favorite tree. Tamlen told her to meet him under the tree today. "He was so nervous when we spoke," she thought. "I wonder what he wants to talk about."

As she passed Keeper Marethari's aravel, she noticed a light. Figuring that she'd ask if Merrill wanted to come along, Vaela stopped when she heard a heated discussion taking place inside. The details were fuzzy, but she knew the argument was about her.

"I am her uncle, the closest person to her real family she has left!"

"I raised her, I fed her, I took care of her when she was sick, and I held her when she cried!"

"You and your damned clan stole her from us the same way Mahariel stole Svana, her mother! Her real mother!"

"I am her real mother!"

Keeper Azulon scoffed. "I'm going to interject here, you're many things, Ashalle, but you will never be her real mother."

Vaela's eyes widened, her heartbeat quickened, and her insides were tossing and turning. After that last bit, she let out a noticeable gasp.

"Wait, someone's here," Marethari noticed. "Who's there? Come on, show yourself."

"Is it true?" Vaela responded.

The room fell silent, which was all the confirmation the teenager needed.

"Mamae, is it true?" she repeated.

"Vaela, just listen to me-"

Vaela bolted from the aravel and ran as fast as she could, faster than she'd ever run before. What took fifteen years to build was crushed instantly. She needed to be far away from here: the arlathvenn and the Sabrae. Tamlen saw her running towards him, but before he could say anything, she was gone.

"Something's wrong," Tamlen thought to himself. He'd never seen Vaela so upset in his life. He gave chase, calling for in the forest she ran off to. They were best friends, but Vaela didn't want to be found. Tamlen knew she wouldn't leave him, and he refused to abandon her to be left alone in this darkness.

He called her name, but there was no response. Again he called for her, and again he was only met with silence. When he called her name for a third time, she screamed at him to go away.

"If you wanted me to give up," Tamlen responded, "you shouldn't have said anything, lethallin."

The sound of her voice had guided him through the darkness and he found her, resting high above the ground in the tree branches.

"Vaela," he whispered upon discovering his friend holding her face between her knees, hiding her face covered in tears. "What's wrong?"

"I'm all alone…" she whispered in response.

A/N: Them feels. I think we all just want to give Vaela a hug at this point, right? Near the halfway point, so hold on to your hats. It's gets bumpy.