"Absolutely not!" Fenris stood. "you wish me to live with someone who has Tevinter hunters after him? You are not just putting my life on the line, Hawke, but my freedom as well. I will not allow it."

"Fenris," Hawke said slowly, "Where else can he go? This is one of the best arrangements for him, for both of you, who is going to look for a slave on the run in a mansion? In Hightown none-the-less. You sure as hell haven't had any slavers knocking on your door! And with him there even if they did appear on your doorstep you would have someone else there to back you up."

"I owe him nothing."

"You owe me. Will you allow it?"

Fenris slowly sat down, obviously deep in thought. After a few moments he sighed loudly and stared at the ceiling. "Fine."

"I...thank you." was all Nero could manage to say. Despite Fenris' animosity towards the idea, Nero was terribly grateful that he was willing to share his lodgings for anyone's sake, whether it was a fellow escaped slave or Hawke's. Were Nero in his shoes, he did not think he would be able to do the same. He vowed to disturb him as little as possible.

Fenris nodded in response.

"Sorry Varric," Isabella smirked, "but it looks like I'm moving out of the Hanged Man, I hear there is a mansion in Hightown with two sexily brooding elves in it."

"Since when is brooding sexy?" the dwarf asked.

"Hush. I will make it sexy, after we all drink and make bets on the color of each others underclothes." Isabella giggled.

"I am...mildly disturbed." Nero said.

"You will find you get used to it." Fenris told him.

"Is she serious?"

He thought about it for a moment, "I am not entirely sure..."

...

Nero chose a room as far away from the one that Fenris used, on the main floor on the other side of the mansion. The estate was filthy, and cold, and dark. The walls sang of bad memories, but it was still a step up from the Hanged Man. Fenris made it more than clear as he showed Nero around that he was not happy with this arrangement, so Nero made an effort to stay quiet and out of his way.

Nero boarded up the window to his room, and shoved the thickest curtains he could find in front of it. His goal was to stop any light being visible from his window when he had the fire lit at night. If he had it his way, as far as anyone was to know, he did not exist. Nero refused to be found in the state he was in. Although he was recovering quickly, he was still much weaker than he wanted to be. If he were to survive an encounter with the people hunting him he would need to be in top form.

Knowing that Fenris would not willingly talk to Nero, Hawke took it upon himself to go to his room and explain to him that the mansion he was residing in was owned by Fenris' master, and that the elf was waiting for his master to come back, in hopes of gaining his freedom. Nero wasn't shocked but felt himself mildly forgiving of Fenris' angry nature, knowing exactly how it felt to have your master chasing you, in an attempt to reclaim you. The similarities in their positions was surprising, Hawke himself said as much, but he promised to do what he could to prevent either Fenris or Nero being recaptured.

Nero was touched, and at a loss for words, he was not accustomed to people caring about his safety, much less willing to fight for it. But he was not sure he wanted their deaths on his hands either.

On his first night in the mansion he took it upon himself to silently explore the rooms on the main floor and the basement, without the angry elf around. He memorized multiple escape routes in case of necessity and found a bed, a small table and a couple of chairs and dragged them to his room. He almost laughed with the knowledge that he had the ability to do whatever he wanted to such expensive furniture (despite being incredibly dusty and chewed by rats in a few spots), whereas before he wasn't even allowed to put a finger on such things unless he was entertaining...Nero shook his head to prevent himself from going further down that road.

In the basement Nero found a wine cellar that was filled with a ludicrous amount of wine, from all over Thedas. He found himself wondering why someone would abandon a mansion but leave such a large collection of wine, but decided not to dwell on it, knowing he likely would never know the reason. He grabbed a bottle of Antivan wine and continued down the hall where he found a room whose door was extremely difficult to open but when he did he found himself in a room with dirt for the floor (the rest of the basement used flagstone) and found a smile creeping on his face.

It was more difficult to feel the energies of the river through the flagstones and boots, so he kicked them off and, setting the wine bottle beside his shoes, he stood in the middle of the room and dug his toes into the dirt to let the river flow through him strongly. It brought Nero a kind of peace that he could only describe as complete. His thoughts drifted away into a steady hum as he slowly lowered himself to the ground and dug his fingers into the dirt as well.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed before he roused himself and strode to his room, where he had a little bit of wine before falling asleep in the chair.

...

The first thing Nero had noticed about Minrathous was that it was very warm, and there were a lot of people. He found himself trying to take everything in and failing miserably, later he wouldn't even be able to recall what color the road was.

Nero and his masters parted ways with Denarius and his entourage at the docks, of which Nero was grateful. He felt uncomfortable under the magisters gaze, which he felt was constantly on him. He sensed it more than saw it and did not look forward to staying in the Denarius estate for the duration of his visit. He wished only to go home.

Before taking leave of the boat the chain connecting the shackles on Nero's ankles was removed, though the shackles remained. A leash was added to the chain that connected his wrists. He would not be getting away from them, although at the time he did not understand why they thought he would.

Esperance wanted to introduce Nero to the Archon as soon as possible, and so he was pulled in the direction of the castle. All the way he was reminded of how he was to behave by Krispen, and nodded in response. When they arrived at the castle Nero found himself in awe of how very large it was, and how high the ceilings were. After a very long wait, in which he tried to push down his nervous and anxious feelings, they were told the Archon would see them.

Nero was the last to enter the throne room, but they were not there long. The Archon was an older man with white at his temples, and long, light brown hair ending in a braid that draped over his shoulder. Nero and his makers stood too far away for him to decipher much else of his countenance. The Archon told them that he would arrange a show of Nero's talents in four days time. Then they were dismissed. Nero was disappointed, was he not made for this man? Why did he not spare the slave more than a cursory glance? What did Nero do wrong?

The magisters were directed to Denarius' estate, where Nero was lead to what could only be described as a cell, in the dungeon. And, after a careful inspection to make sure there was no dirt for him to reach, his chains and gloves were removed and for the first time in more than a week he was able to curl his fingers. Nero told himself the pain was proof they were still functional. Then he was alone.

Nero spent the remainder of the day laying in the small cot he was provided, glad that he at least had a breeze coming in through the tiny window. The food he was given was barely edible, but knowing that he could eat it or starve, he forced it down. This was clearly what Denarius' slaves ate on a regular basis, as he was given fresher food the next day at the behest of his makers. Occasionally a slave would be lead past Nero's cell and he would hear a metal gate open and close, the jangle of keys, and a guard would walk back to stand by the exit. By the time darkness fell on his second evening in Minrathous he found himself missing the sound of conversation.

So when Denarius showed up at his door he was happy to see him, even though the magister told the guard to leave the area. In Nero's naivety he did not suspect what the other man would do to him. Denarius entered the cell, closing the door behind him, and when he smiled at Nero he gave him a small smile and a nod.

Then Denarius waved his hand and Nero was thrown against the brick wall behind him, magic holding him there. He had hit it so hard he could not breathe for a few moments and all he could see was white. When his wits returned Denarius was no longer smiling, instead he was eyeing the slave with something in his eye that Nero did not recognize at the time. Lust and loathing.

"You know," Denarius stood right in front of him now, their chests touching as the magister took a finger and dragged it along Nero's ear down to his jaw "you are a beautiful specimen." he took a small step backwards and his hand trailed down Nero's chest, "I have been unable to accept that you cannot be mine." Nero gasped loudly as Denarius roughly grabbed his crotch, the magister smiled at the sound.

"I cannot buy you, but I know Esperance would not have allowed anyone to touch you, she would want to save you for the Archon. So desperate to please, she is. One can only hope you are as well."

Nero fell from the wall into the magisters arms, but before he had the time to push the mage away he was spun around to face the wall and his hands were held above him with magic. His slacks were roughly pulled down and he shivered in the sudden chill and with the fear that was quickly taking hold of him.

Then Denarius' lips were at his ear and he whispered, "I will take that from you, and when I'm done any damage will be healed so no one will believe you, even if you ever thought to tell on me." He chuckled before sinking his teeth into Nero's shoulder.

That would not be his last scream.