Chapter 3 here we go! I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far. I originally started this fic for a friend, and because let's face it…..Fenris is awesome. But it's grown into something much more than I'd anticipated and I just wanted to share it with others. Anywho, don't be afraid to review! Thanks! Oh, and P.S this chapter gets….dark. This fic is rated M for a reason. You have been warned.

P.S.S: Bioware owns Dragon Age. I own Saura. Cause I'm cool like that :P

Chapter 3:

Saura awoke just as she was slammed to the ground. She lay in a heap, unmoving, hoping to get some sort of grip on the situation. The first thing she registered was the strange way her arms were stretched back behind her, causing pain to flare up in the shoulder that the arrow had penetrated. Her wrists were bound by what felt to Saura like thick, knotted rope that dug painfully into her skin. She kept her eyes closed for fear of alerting her captors, and the longer she appeared to be unconscious, the more information she could obtain from them.

"So what now?" One deep voice asked.

"We take our time turning her in. There's no rush with this one. She's a nobody, so the reward will be slim. However, there are other rewards to be had." The second man chuckled in a way that had the blood freezing in her veins. It was at that moment she truly understood the dangers she faced. Her plan of pretending to be unconscious would not work on these men. Indeed, she heard the soft footsteps heading in her direction and without taking a moment to assess the situation, or for that matter, her condition; she jumped to her feet. She was aware of several things all at once. First, she quickly scanned the area to find that she must be in some kind of abandon warehouse. Boxes were stacked in a somewhat jumbled structure in the far corner, and daylight was streaming through a broken window several feet above them, illuminating the dust in the air. The light fell languidly upon the dusty earth just in front of her and shone brightly off the Templars helm. That was the second bit she noticed. There were two Templars standing before her looking down upon her with varying looks ranging from surprise to predatory hunger. Instinct had her hand twitching to reach for her sword, but the ropes constrained her and a wave of nauseating helplessness washed over her for a moment.

" Looking for this?" The nearest Templar asked, jerking a thumb back over his shoulder toward a spot near the corner of the warehouse where her leather scabbard and sword lay, looking pitiful in disuse. " You aren't actually stupid enough to believe we'd leave it within your grasp are you?" The Templar asked, laughing viciously.

Saura looked the two men over quickly, roving her eyes over the two of them in hopes of spotting some sort of visible weakness she could exploit. She saw none. The Templar closest to her had jet-black hair and even darker eyes that were currently twinkling in delight at his capture. He was lean and fit and young, probably a couple years older than herself. The other Templar had dirty blond hair that fell in curls across his forehead and was wearing a grin that spoke legions about where his mind was. Saura guessed he was most likely in his mid 30's.

Saura took two quick steps back and bent her knees in a battle-ready stance.

" Settle down, mage." The black haired Templar said, taking a slow step toward her.

Saura narrowed her eyes, but didn't move back further. Instinct had driven her to move back the first time, but her pride wouldn't allow another.

" I am no mage. You've made a mistake." Saura hissed.

" Do not try and deny what you are." The other Templar said, stepping forward into the pool of sunlight next to his comrade. " We saw you performing your healing magic." Saura nearly gave herself away at the mention of the healing spell. She'd almost forgotten the battle, the arrow to her shoulder, and her desperate attempt at healing.

" Maker only knows why you choose to wield a sword instead of a staff. If you have magical abilities why not use it?" The curly haired Templar continued carelessly.

" Don't be a fool Thallen. Think about it, if you were an apostate you would try and draw as little attention to yourself as possible. If she were to wield a staff it would be similar to having a large sign posted above her head declaring her talents. She was just scared." The black haired Templar sneered.

" I am afraid of no Templar." Saura growled. The men exchanged looks briefly.

" Is that so?"

Saura was knocked back against the wall behind her within seconds. Her arms caught the brunt of the damage as they were tied behind her back, although her head received a knock as well. She'd seen his attack coming as if it were in slow motion, yet her movements were still sluggish from her lack of blood and she could not hope to counter it in time. It was the black haired Templar that had struck, and now his body was pressed up roughly against hers and his foul breath fanned across her face. She turned her head away from his and struggled frantically against the rope binding her wrists with no luck.

" Are you afraid now, little apostate? Do you know what fun we're going to have with you?" His hands were traveling up her sides and he'd wedged a knee in between her legs. Thallen, the second Templar was at her side now looking down upon her with a fierce, lustful look in his eyes. Saura suddenly felt a hand on her breast and she screamed angrily, kicking out with her feet and thrashing violently against them. Thallen quickly grasped her ankles and yanked her to a sitting position. The black haired Templar grasped her face roughly and pressed his lips against hers hungrily. Saura tried to jerk away, but his hand held her.

" Scream all you want honey! No one is around to hear you, let alone save you! And even if there were someone around they wouldn't help a dirty apostate!" Thallen whispered in her ear, then running his tongue along it.

Tears glistened in Saura's eyes as she continued struggling to free herself. But all she was managing to do was open the would back up on her shoulder. She felt so utterly helpless as she tried to fight against them. There was nothing she could do now, she realized with a jolt of pure terror. They had her. The Templar on top of her was thrusting her pants down and began working on his own.

" NO!" Saura shrieked, fighting against them with renewed force, but still they remained in control. One was even laughing sadistically….

But suddenly, as she attempted once more to buck the Templar off her, he became still.

" Get off her. NOW. Unless you prefer your head severed from your neck."

The voice was a low, cool growl that had gooseflesh rising on her arms despite the heat. She tried to get a look at her rescuer, but all she could see was the glint of steel pressed against the Templar's throat.

" And don't you try anything either." The voice added, probably directing that at the other Templar. Sure enough, the black haired Templar adjusted his pants and stood. He backed away slowly, his hands stretched out in front of him. Thallen did the same.

" Don't you know what she is, serah? She's an apostate! We saw her performing magic with our own eyes!"

" I despise an apostate as much as the next, but if I must choose between the criminals here, I choose you." The voice said. Saura still hadn't caught a glimpse of him, as she was trying to wriggle back into her pants. She closed her legs, embarrassed, but thankful the man had arrived just in time. She suddenly felt a presence to her left and with a quick slice of a sword, her hands were freed. The rope dropped to the earth. Saura hurriedly pulled her pants up over her hips and stood. Her legs were wobbly, but held her weight as she stood and rubbed at the raw, angry marks the ropes had left on her wrists.

Saura looked up into the face of her rescuer to thank him for his intervention, but the words caught on her tongue. It was the man from the tavern. Fenris. He was facing her, but the sword was once again positioned against the Templar's Adam's apple. He stood looking at her face critically, but just a hint of distrust was there in his green eyes as he did so. His white-silver hair shone brilliantly in the sunlight and his eyes dropped to scan over her body for injury when suddenly his cheeks turned a dull pink. He averted his eyes and Saura looked down quickly to find that in all the commotion her leather top had been cut and ripped into useless ribbons that dangled around her shoulders. Her chest was completely exposed. Her immediate thought was to cover herself, but she tossed the idea aside as she stood thinking it over. He'd already seen. And she had more important things to attend to at the moment…

" Are you hurt?" He asked her, his eyes now upon Thallen, who stood a foot away from the other Templar, who had the sword to his throat.

" Physically? Yes." Saura responded finally, gingerly touching her now bleeding shoulder. " Emotionally? Yes." She walked over and grabbed her poor discarded sword. She wiped away the tears staining her cheeks and with a swift flick of her wrist, unsheathed her sword and plunged it deeply into the black haired Templar's chest. He gagged and choked on his own blood. Saura ripped the blade from his chest and watched him fall to his knees, blood splattering the dusty earth. Her rescuer made no move, except to lower his sword as she started toward Thallen.

" No! No, please! I have a wife and—"

" All the more reason. Cheating bastard." Saura said emotionlessly. She swept the head from his shoulders and turned away from the carnage she'd just created. Instead she looked up at Fenris, who stood by looking at the scene almost lazily. The only thing that gave away any emotion was the raising of his eyebrows. She replaced her sword in its scabbard and finally covered her chest. She could feel heat rising in her cheeks as she did so and looked away from him. He turned as well and quickly removed his chest plate and stripped off a black tunic and held it out to her.

" Put it on." He said simply, his back still turned to her. She took the tunic gratefully and slipped it over her head. She was enveloped in the musky smell of him and found that it wasn't at all unpleasant.

" Thank you. For….everything." Saura said softly. He turned back to face her as he adjusted his outer armor. He was looking her over again and his face showed no hint of what he must have been thinking. " You heard what they accused me of," Saura continued. " I don't deny it. I'm not sure I like the idea of being handed over to more Templars after this, but you may do with me what you will." Saura dropped her eyes, feeling utterly and completely defeated. Although she didn't say it out loud, the idea of Fenris killing her was implied. She could fight him, she knew. And for all she knew, maybe she could live (although she highly doubted it, even if she weren't injured). But after this day, after everything that had happened…she just couldn't fight it anymore. She couldn't continue fighting what she truly was. And if she were to die in battle, she fervently wished to fall upon the blade of a brilliant warrior. Someone like Fenris. Her one goal in life was no longer important to her in that moment, and she no longer felt the urge for survival. She was sickened by the curse magic had placed upon her life, marking her as a beast. She could no longer tolerate the reality that she was a monster.

There was a long silence between them and finally Saura couldn't stand it any longer and looked up to read his face. Emotions flitted across his chiseled features that she didn't completely understand. It was if he were trying to decipher something. Finally he looked into her eyes.

" Why so eager to throw your life away?"

The statement was simple, and yet profound. His words hit her like a ton of bricks and she just caught an edge of accusation in them. She immediately went on the defensive.

" How would you like living every day knowing you have the potential to burn a town to the ground, or control someone's mind? It's sickening!" Saura yelled. " I'm a monster! Magic has cursed my life and stolen away everything that ever mattered to me. Death is almost welcome after enduring all of this!" She didn't need to gesture toward the Templar's bodies for Fenris to understand the full meaning behind her words.

" So you are giving up?" He asked lowly.

Saura's head whipped around to glare at him, tears still glistening in her eyes.

" You'd never understand what I've been through." She hissed.

It was in that moment that Fenris understood that although she was supposedly offering her life to him, that she would never go down without a fight. Even as a tear trickled down her cheek she look fierce, standing there body tense. He made his decision.

" I will not kill you." He said slowly. He watched as her blue eyes widened in surprise. " And I will not turn you over to the Templars. I rarely do such foolish things, so you had better not make me regrets this." Fenris said with a slight narrowing of his green eyes.

" What? Why?" Saura blurted. She couldn't believe her ears and searched his face for any sign of a lie, but found none. He contemplated her question a moment before answering.

" I cannot say. But trust me when I say that you will have been one of very few apostates I have not seen taken care of one way or another." Again he narrowed his eyes and suddenly looked very menacing standing before her.

" I…I don't know what to say…" Saura said.

" You will remain within the city." Fenris said briskly, turning around as he spoke. " And you will let me know exactly where it is you reside, because I will be…checking in on you. Just to make sure you aren't just a very talented actress. For all I know, you could be a practicing blood mage, or one step away from becoming an abomination." He said the words blood mage and abomination as if they left a bitter taste in his mouth.

" So…you'd kill me if I were either?"

" Yes. In an instant." Fenris said, looking back at her over his shoulder with a sneer on his face.

And despite everything, despite the scene, and despite the fact that the proclamation was so horrifically forward, Saura grinned. A foolish, sincere smile that had her eyes twinkling. Fenris did a double-take as he saw the smile come across her face, and actually turned to look at her better, as if he were certain he weren't seeing her right.

" You would do that for me? I mean… I find it very touching you would be willing to do that. If I'd ever turned into a beast, I'd want someone to kill me and put me out of my misery."

A look of such astonishment crossed his face that in another situation, Saura would have laughed out loud. Then the look of astonishment quickly melted into a look that told her he was flustered.

" Well I—I wouldn't want innocent lives endangered." He growled, turning.

Saura couldn't wipe the smile off her face, mainly because she was worried if she stopped smiling she'd start crying again. She quickly gave him the name of the inn she was staying in and told him her name.

" I know I should be thanking you. And maybe someday I will. Someday when I have a reason for living." She bent her head low and looked down at her hands, thinking about the mana that coursed through her, beckoning her to use her gift. Curse, she thought. Glimpses of her past flashed across her mind, reminding her of the evils magic had brought upon her life. She shuddered and looked up to find him looking at her with those piercing emerald eyes. She refused to look away from him out of pride, but found her cheeks warming considerably under his sharp scrutiny. It was as though he could somehow read her mind…she mentally shook herself. Now she was starting to sound like those girls at the tavern! If she found herself thinking he could see inside her soul with his eyes she'd throw herself off the nearest cliff…

"Leave." He said finally, his eyes once again narrowed and dangerous looking. " Before I change my mind."

His brisk words didn't phase her however. And she walked passed him slowly. As she did she looked up into his hard face once more and smiled softly at him. In spite of his threat, he'd also saved her from those Templars, and she would never forget what he'd done for her this day.

" Thank you Fenris, I look forward to your visits. Fare thee well." And with that, she walked passed him and into the setting sun's orange glow.