Never to Rule Over Him

Chapter 2

Danarius nodded, taking a step back from Jowan and releasing his grip on his face. "Fenris, get the little elf. The one that was with this boy. She is worth close to nothing to us, but she may be a good leash for the mageling."

Fenris did not question the order, and he returned to the cell. Jowan stood in shock. He found his grey eyes following the marked elf and watching his every move as he entered the prison and toward the little elven girl, who really was not much younger than Jowan or Fenris, just extremely malnourished and traumatized. She trembled as the much fiercer looking elf extended his arm and grabbed hers, a great deal less gently than he had taken Jowan's, and he pulled her up.

Fenris led her from the cell quickly, practically dragging the poor girl, not because she struggled, but because she was far too weak and terrified to keep up with his long stride.

Jowan watched as she was led closer until Fenris released her with a rough shove towards the young mage and the harsh magister. Jowan frowned and winced as the little elf clung to his side, unintentionally brushing against one of his many bruises.

She buried her fragile face in what was left of his shirt and Jowan shushed her gently as she sobbed and sniffled. He held her in a close, protective embrace.

"Ah, the child seems like a weakling…drawn to a Ferelden mage for protection, well, isn't that typical?" The two guards who were stationed outside the cell laughed cruelly, quickly silencing again when their master glared at them.

Jowan did not look up at Danarius, he gently stroked the girl's light brown strands of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. The young elf looked at Danarius, but was careful not to make eye contact.

Jowan released her from his arms, but one hand remained on her quivering shoulder.

Danarius spoke condescendingly to the child. "What is your name, little slave?"

He had counted forty eight floorboards below deck when she'd been brought aboard. There had been no need to bind her in chains like they had with him, and they left the delicate little girl in the brig with him, and four others. She was terrified of anyone and everything, but not of him. The one prisoner whom they had left in chains.

Of course that was only because she did not know why he was bound.

She'd spent the first night alone in a corner. The next day the guards had brought stale bread. Jowan could not get close enough, because his shackles tethered him to the wall of the ship and try as he might he could not persuade the other frightened and starving slaves to pass him food.

"Every man for himself," they'd said. She finally locked eyes with him when he'd given up struggling against his bonds. She had managed two small bits of the bread, and later when the other four settled down for the night, she crawled over to him.

He'd been almost asleep, but she shook him, very lightly. Had he been any deeper in slumber he would not have felt it. But his eyes opened and she flinched. She moved back a little but he'd sat up quickly and then he spoke softly. "What is it, little one?" He asked. With a pained expression she'd taken his hand and placed one piece of bread into it. Then she had smiled.

"You did not have to…" He had begun.

She shook her head and placed her index finger to her lips. He nodded. He understood.

She gave her head a subtle shake, and placed her finger to her lips.

Jowan was fearful now. He knew Danarius would never understand. So he spoke in her stead. "I…I believe the girl is mute, ser."

Danarius shot Jowan a poisonous glare and Fenris snarled, "Your master did not speak to you, you fool."

"Is it true, Fenris? Is the girl defective? Open her mouth." Danarius demanded.

"Yes, master." Fenris said automatically as he reached for the girl's face. The child let out a fearful cry, a scream of misery and anguish. Jowan pulled her away from Fenris' grasp. He understood the elf was only following orders but it pained him still to see the man so blindly follow this man's cruel ways and carry out all his dirty work.

Fenris raised a questioning dark eyebrow, and the girl continued to sob into Jowan's arms.

Danarius looked unsettled. "Quite the voice and tongue she has for a mute, wouldn't you say, lad? Perhaps if she pays for your lying you will learn not to lie to me, blood mage?"

Jowan shook his head frantically. "It was a mistake, master, I thought she was-"

"Enough of this foolishness!" Danarius said, voice raised dangerously. "Fenris, take them both to the slaves' quarters. If the girl cannot speak in twenty minutes' time, kill her and report back to me that my cargo was defective. If she can speak then she will live and Jowan here will be in…quite a bit of trouble for lying to his master. No food and no water to either of them until this matter is resolved. Are we clear?"

"Yes, master." Fenris said softly. Danarius turned on his heel and muttered something about how disgusting elven women were before he disappeared up the stairwell and out of the dungeon.

Jowan glared at the male elf before the other spoke. "You'd best learn quickly, human. Whatever life you had before, it is gone now. You are a slave, and that is all you should ever hope to be again. Anything more is foolery and dangerous. Your past is irrelevant to your life here…" Fenris said as he chained Jowan' hands together.

Once the mage's hands were bound he looked the elf in the eye, but the eye contact was quickly broken by Fenris' evasion. "Is it bad that I am almost comforted by my past being gone?"

Fenris looked genuinely confused for a moment, but then he shook his head. "That is none of my concern, human. I have no past."
Jowan gave a puzzled frown to the elf's statement but then Fenris turned and took the smaller female elf by one arm and pushed Jowan towards the stairs. "I will lead the way, don't try anything." Fenris commanded.

The walk upstairs to the more populated parts of Danarius' estate was exhausting considering both Jowan and the female elf were close to starving and very parched. The estate was quite well lit and very extravagantly decorated, with blood red tapestries and paintings on almost every inch of the stone walls. The slaves' quarters, once they reached them, were drab and run down in comparison. Nicer than the dungeons but a very great deal shabbier than the main house.

Fenris released the girl once they turned the corner into the slaves' quarters and he kept one hand on the chains that bound Jowan.

"Say something, if you want to live, child. This charade is foolish, and will only make everything worse for us all." Fenris told the girl, with the first hint of gentleness that he had shown since Jowan had first seen him.

The girl looked towards Jowan and tears trickled down her cheek. Wide hazel-green eyes bore into Jowan's grey pools and the mage wanted to melt. He knew what she was probably thinking. If she did not speak, she would be killed, if she did, Jowan would be punished and she would most likely have to watch.

"My dear, it's all right. Don't worry about me. I know you're scared but I would rather be punished than see him kill you." Jowan said, forcing a smile. "You can do it; I know you can."

Jowan and Fenris exchanged glances and the marked elf spoke again. "I do not have a choice. If the master comes back and she is alive, he will expect her to speak…"

Ignoring Fenris' reasoning, Jowan looked the girl in the eyes, his expression softening. "What is your name, dear? I promise I won't be angry. You don't have to be loud…just, say it. You are the only reason I have made it this far, you have to speak. I cannot bear to see you throw away your life to spare me whatever punishment he has in store."

The elf glanced from Fenris to Jowan and then she bowed her head, solemn eyes closed. "Friend. You are a friend." A small voice, just above a whisper. But it was a voice! Jowan smiled, more sincerely this time, and the girl disregarded the presence of Fenris and anyone else and threw her arms around Jowan's neck, getting him a little bit off balance due to his bound hands, but Fenris steadied him. The male elf nudged Jowan's arm.

"You'll need to get her to say more than that, human." He quickly averted his eyes to the ground. "If her speech is too limited the master will still see her as a defect, and I will be ordered to-"

"Please, don't hurt my friend." The little elf said, more boldly than before.

Jowan scowled at Fenris now. "Begging for you not to hurt me? I think she's proven she understands more than she lets on. Does that suffice?" he asked bitterly.

Fenris was about to reply, but a firm, cold hand grasped Jowan's shoulder and at the sound of the newcomer's voice all three slaves flinched a little, the young girl being the most frightened. "Ah, yes. A slave must understand, and speak only enough to prove they aren't daft."

Fenris' gaze darted down again and Jowan followed his lead. "Master," Fenris greeted. He sounded almost polite, almost pleasant, but the emotion was barely there.

"Did I hear that the little one has been coaxed to speak, mageling?" Danarius cooed with a mock gentleness that sent a shiver down Jowan's spine.

"…please, do not hurt him…" the girl whimpered. She had let go of Jowan when Danarius had entered the room and now she was standing across from him, wringing her tiny hands in the skirt of her shabby dress.

Danarius frowned. "I suppose that answers that question, then." The magister released his grip on Jowan and shoved him sideways. The young mage was so weak from exhaustion, hunger and dehydration that he let himself fall, landing hard on the stone floor, wind knocked out of him. He could do nothing but watch as Danarius advanced towards the girl. She was backing up, desperate to get away from the frightening man, but she could only go so far before she hit the wall, and she yelped when she did.

She covered her face with her hands and began to cry again, no doubt frightened Danarius would strike her. "Hands at your sides, slave, I want to see your face." The girl obeyed, slowly, but as soon as she put her hands down she stared up at the Magister with her big, pleading eyes, the ones that could make Jowan melt, but Danarius was only angered by this.

"You dumb little elven wench!" He spat in her face, then slapped her across the face with a hard, bony, but strong hand. "You are completely worthless! We're it not to keep the mageling in check you'd be nothing more than a blood slave! Your blood's worth more than your labor!" Then he hit her again, and again, until she was on the ground, across the room from Jowan, who was struggling to get up.

Fenris winced as his master struck the younger elf. He rarely endured abuse so blatant, but he knew that Danarius had a nasty temper and he often took it out on his slaves in a barbaric manner. But such was the life of a slave, and nothing could be done to change this, so the elf thought. He tried to block out the more fragile elf's cries, but he couldn't help but wonder why she had remained silent. Both she and Jowan had disobeyed several orders so far and they had been here less than a day. Not to mention they were trying to protect one another. Why, he wondered, would Jowan be willing to endure a punishment for the little elf? Having friends was nothing but trouble. And why would the girl be begging her master not to harm the mageling? Why go through so much heart ache for someone she had just met?

Fenris' pondering was cut short by Jowan. The mage had finally been able to stand, and he moved from his place next to Fenris, quickly advancing across the floor. Danarius was still striking the girl, and although his hands were bound, he acted boldly in his friend's defense. As he spotted the lightning spell Danarius was preparing, Jowan swiftly pushed the girl out of the way and let the spell hit him full force. Danarius did not stop the flow of mana once he realized what Jowan had done, and he did not redirect the spell over to the battered elf. Instead he strengthened the spell, sparks turned to lightning bolts as they flew and coursed through Jowan's body. The young mage was on the ground now, convulsing and screaming, and now the little girl was next to Fenris, sitting up but covering her eyes.

Jowan was sure he would have died then and there, but then the lightning stopped, and although he was stunned and in a great deal of pain, he was still mostly conscious and struggling to breathe and trying to move. Once some of his senses returned he wanted to soothe the agonizing pain of the back of his head, that he must have hit while he had spasmed on the floor because of the spell. But when he brought his chained hands up to rub his head, the movement was too much, and unconsciousness finally greeted him.

It was hours before the mage stirred, but only moments before things calmed down, seemingly. Danarius had left after releasing the spell, ordering Fenris to follow him and tend to his bath. Other slaves had gathered in the room as Danarius was leaving, although they were careful not to get in his way.

The elven girl stayed with Jowan. Once she was sure the attention of the others was no longer on them save for a few hushed whispers in the distance, she crawled to his side and lay next to him on the floor, burying her bruises and bloodied face in his long, unkempt raven hair.

Jowan began to stir when it was long past midnight and the girl was asleep at his side. Nobody had paid them much attention, and when Jowan finally awoke, a throbbing pain coursed through his head, down his spine and throughout his entire body. He groaned and turned his head slowly, crying out when a bruise on the back of his head hit the cold hard ground.

The little elf was awake in only moments when she felt his movement. She sat up and looked down at him, gazing into his blue-grey eyes, her own green pools filled with concern.

"Friend…I'm sorry they hurt you…it is my fault." She said softly.

Jowan blinked a few times, and then he spoke quietly. "No…." Tears were streaming down the girl's face and he tried to lift a hand to wipe them away, only his hands were still shackled, and he clenched his eyes shut, gritting his teeth in pain when he tried to move.

"No, no. There is no need to speak like that, I did what I had to do." Jowan whispered.

"But …why?" she asked, her innocent features full of confusion.

"It is a harsh world we live in. My innocence was taken from me long ago. Some might say I doomed myself, but as Fenris said, the past is in the past. You are pure of heart and I wish to protect you…to atone for the innocence I could not have and because it is simply the right thing to do." He whispered. It was the best explanation he could possibly give her with his splitting headache and the pain the rest of his body was in.

"Oi," a voice said. "You gonna get up off the floor, shem? We mopped tonight, you know."

Jowan gave the cook a tired look. The elf was young, only perhaps a little older than himself, and Fenris raised an eyebrow as the man strode over and knelt at his side.

"You're hurt, shem." The man said simply. His accent was neither Tevinter or Fereldan. He was from the Free Marches, perhaps.

"No, I like to lay passed out on the floor with my hands in chain for fun." Jowan said softly.

"What?" the girl piped in. Jowan spared her a small smile.

"Don't worry about it sweetie." He said softly.

"That attitude'll getcha killed, shem. My name's Rik. I'm the cook in 'ere on a good day." The man said, with a smirk almost too mischievous for a slave. He had dirty blond hair and friendly blue eyes, but he bore many scars on his face, marking him a slave, for sure. He contradicted himself with the attitude comment, but Jowan played along.

"And on a bad day?" asked the chained mage.

"I cook for the master!" The elf said after chuckling for a time.

Jowan wanted to laugh, but he smiled instead. Something about Rik put the young human at ease.
"Jowan," he offered, his grin fading. "My name is Jowan."

"Typical human name I suppose." Rik replied. "And who might you be, lass? Tell me and I'll give you lot some bread and gruel. It's gone cold, but better than nothing, yeah?"

"…Sa'renan. I'm Sa'renan." She said softly. It was clear she hadn't spoken her own name in a long time because she smiled gently when she said it and closed her eyes, savoring what it sounded like.

"A Dalish name?" Jowan asked. He still could not make big movements without jolts of pain, but he managed to turn his head to look at whomever was speaking.

"I… I don't know, friend. My mamae said…" she began to cry again and then a shadow appeared over Rik's face.

"Sorry lass…Don't tell us if speaking of it troubles you…" said the older elf. Jowan smiled reassuringly and nodded, as much as he could, in agreement.

"Thank you." Sa'renan said softly. She then looked from Rik to Jowan, the concern returning to her features. "You should eat something, Jowan. Rik, can you help him up please?"

Rik looked down at Jowan. "Aye, lass. Go sit at the table, but try not to be too noisy, you don't want to wake anyone."

With a nod, little Sa'renan was standing, and he settled at the table nearby. Rik gently helped Jowan up off the floor, but the mage could not suppress hisses and painful groans as he tried to stand. The elf helped him slowly and painfully to a chair and he collapsed into its arms, the chains on his wrists rattling as hi hands landed on the table.

"Gonna be all right?" asked Rik.

Jowan nodded. "Please, don't worry about me."

There was a small gentle hand on his shoulder and he winced but then he relaxed.

"It's only me, friend." Sa'renan said softly.

The older elf then served them a few pieces of bread and a bowl of gruel-like stew, and despite the plainness of the meal, the two ate quickly and when he gave them water they drank gratefully.

Rik then showed them to the bedchamber shared by all the slaves and Jowan chose the bed closest to the door, Sa'renan chose the one next to his and Rik took the bunk above Jowan.

It was the first thing close to a proper sleep either of them had in weeks. Jowan was hurting but at least he wasn't as hungry, and the bed was shabby and mattresses were hard but they were softer than the stone floor.

A/N: Sa'renan means "One Voice" in the Dalish language. Thanks for reading, please let me know what you think! J