When Life Takes Hold
Interlude I - Tucker

It is heartbreaking to watch a child,
who has lost their innocence.

Dark clouds rolled in over Denerim with the promise of relief from the stifling summer heat, as the distant sounds of thunder rumbled, and the smell of dirt and rain grew heavy in the air. There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief as merchants scattered to cover their wares, children running and squealing in the streets excited for the break from the intense summer day heat. But the elves in the alienage seemed to revel in the coming storm, many coming out of their homes to watch the blackening sky.

He didn't like to get wet, but as much as he hated the rain, he hated the heat more. And he needed to make it to the shop and back quickly. His Mother was waiting for him, and she promised he could help her bake a cake for his nameday tomorrow. This would be the first time they could afford such a luxury for him. To him, it was the best thing in all of Thedas, and he didn't want to mess it up.

He loved helping his Mother bake. He was a good helper, and sometimes she would let him assist when she baked for the palace where she served. He had only been in the castle a handful of times, but it was amazing, and he loved the adventure. There were knights and nobles, and he had even seen King Maric once. The Shem was huge and had smiled at him. He seemed very friendly, not very kingly at all. His Mother laughed at him when he had told her that. A small smile pulled at his lips at the thought of the Human King. His mother had told him as far as Shems go, the King was the best of them. And he believed it.

His Mother had told him to be quick. He was not one to waste time but his thoughts distracted him from his task. He did not want to be caught in the storm lest he forget everything she had sent him to collect.

"Eggs, flour and spice... Eggs, flour and spice," the elven boy murmured quietly under his breath, as he darted through the darkening alley of the alienage.

His large golden eyes darted around the shadows of the alleyway, his black hair hung in his eyes, and stuck to his face. He huffed in frustration as he tried to wipe the hair away from his eyes. He knew it was still dangerous to go through the alleys even during the day, but it was still faster than taking the main street. It would not do to have his only two silvers stolen. Nervously he slipped out onto the open road, a wide grin crossed his face as he headed quickly to the shop across the wide streets.

"Hey there squirt. Where you off to in such a hurry?" A voice came up out of nowhere. Startled, he grasped the two sliver coins tightly to his chest with a gasp, twirling around wide eyed to face the figure that hovered a few inches taller than himself. He let out a breath of relief that he didn't even realize he was holding as he relaxed.

"O.. oh.. Hey there, Shianni, you scared the life out me." He smiled up at his older sister, his body trembling slightly.

The red headed elf chuckled, patting his shoulder reassuringly. "Sorry, Tucker. I didn't mean to. I was just wondering what trouble you were getting yourself into now." She chuckled.

"No trouble, just going to the shop for Mama, it's my nameday tomorrow, remember?" Tucker beamed, sticking his chest out proudly.

"Oh ya, I forgot. You're what, five now?" Shianni smirked.

"Very funny Shianni. I'm only two years younger than you..." he scoffed.

"I know, I know, you're just so short and adorable, it's so hard to believe you will be ten tomorrow." she teased, ruffling his hair as he squirmed out of her reach.

"Hey, stop it." Tucker scowled, batting her hand away.

"Touchy." She chuckled. "Would you like some help?"

"What for?" Tucker asked, in a fail attempt to flatten his tousled hair.

"I'm just being nice, Tucker. Gee why are you so touchy?"

"You never do anything nice for me."

"Oh come on now, you know that's not true."

"It is true and you kno..."

Tuckers attention was quickly drawn away by a small figure that moved up the main road toward them. His heart almost leapt into his throat, watching as a young human girl walked slowly up the road. Humans didn't come here, they always steered clear from the alienage, unless they were guards or Templars with the sisters of the Chantry. He looked up at Shianni, and her attention was now focused on the girl as well, and she did not look happy.

"What the... what's a Shem kid doing here?" she whispered.

Tuckers gaze went back to the young girl. The Shem was pretty enough, he thought as he watched her. Dark brown hair fell loosely around her shoulders, she looked to be not much older than him, although Tucker could never really tell the age of humans. For all he knew she could be years older. Not only did this girl look out of place here, she was dressed better than most Shem he had met, with the exception of those in the Palace, but those were nobles.

The girl wore a dress of dark green with golden threads, embroidered along the edges that tapered down and billowed slightly around her feet. Even though she looked like a noble, the girl seemed to be uncomfortable in her own skin, as she walked stiffly, tripping over the hem of the dress, making Tucker stifle a laugh.

"I wonder why she's here?" he asked, glancing up at his sister.

"I dunno Tuck, she's going to get herself killed if she's not careful. It's too dangerous for a Shem to come here alone. She's just a kid. Why did the guards let a kid in here?"

"Maybe she got lost, we should help her before..."

He heard a familiar bark of laughter, and he knew that laugh. It sent a shiver through him. He groaned as two teenage elven boys stepped out of the shadows near one of the run down shops. Tucker watched them as they stepped close to the young Shem girl, her eyes widened in surprise and took a few steps back, as they hovered over her, blocking her way.

"Lookie here Flynn, looks like a little Shem has lost her way, or maybe she's come to gawk at us pathetic knife ears." The taller of the two glared down at her.

The young girl seemed taken aback briefly before crossing her arms tight to her chest, "I am not here to gawk, that would be just rude," the young girl scoffed.

"Oh really now, is that right? What would a scrawny little Shem like you be doing all alone down here then?"

The girl glanced around, her pale blue eyes fell briefly to Tuckers own worried stare. She smiled at him before turning her attention back to the two young men.

"My father told me about how bad life is here in the alienage. I ... just wanted to see if what he said was true." She shifted uncomfortably as their gazes hardened into a scowl.

Tucker felt his heart hammering in his chest, he watched in fear as the events slowly unfolded in front of him. He had to help, he knew they would beat this poor girl to a bloody pulp. Those two had been known to cause a lot of trouble, not only within the alienage but outside as well. Both boys had been known for their hatred of humans. Many elves in the alienage hated humans, although none would act on it. But Tucker never really hated humans, they weren't the nicest at times, but he knew that not every Shem was the same. He had met kind ones before.

"They're going to hurt her Shianni, we have to do something," he whispered. The feeling of panic began to raise in his chest, this girl maybe a Shem but she didn't do anything to deserve to be hurt.

"Tucker, go home. Mama will be worried. Forget about the girl." Shianni's voice was strange, like she did not believe her own words.

"But... I can't let them hurt her."

"Tucker no!" Shianni shouted, grabbing a hold of Tucker's arm in an attempt to pull him back.

Tucker twisted out of her grasp. She may have been older and larger, but he was fast and her hold wasn't strong enough to keep him. Tucker darted towards them as a small group started to form around Rayln and Flynn. Yet no one intervened as one of the boys struck the young girl, knocking her to the ground.

"Leave her alone, Rayln. She hasn't done nothing to you!" Tucker hollered at the older boy, who yanked the girl by her hair up to her feet. She screamed but it wasn't in fear, she was angry as she twisted, swinging out trying to attack the older boy in an attempt to break his hold on her, to no avail.

"What, are you in love with the little Shem, Tucky? You don't want me to hurt her? What are you going to do about it, little rat?" Rayln spat, holding the girl by the hair, just far enough away from his body as to not be struck by her flaying arms and legs.

"Let her go Rayln!"

The girl screamed, pulling away from Rayln, instead of fleeing she twisted around and kicked his groin, he cried out in pain before dropping to his knees. The girl smiled smugly before a fist blurred out and smashed her face, her head snapped back as she tumbled onto the ground.

"You little Shem bitch," Flynn snapped, taking a step towards her, kicking her in the face.

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. Tucker watched blood ooze down from a gash over her eye. Her eye swelled and began to turn a deep purple, his stomach lurched as he watched Flynn grabbed her by the hair and dragged her screaming down the main street. The crowd had grown and people stared, but none of them offered to help the young girl, some even had twisted smirks. Something inside Tucker snapped at that moment, he felt the start of the cool raindrops hitting on his skin. A loud crack of thunder was heard as Tucker stepped towards them, he wanted to scream but his voice failed him, and at that moment he was ashamed to call himself an elf. The hair stood up on Tucker's arms as rage bubbled up inside him. He could feel the power rushing through him as lightning sparked out of his reaching hands, striking Flynn in the chest.

The boy's eyes went wide as a bead of blood formed at the corner of his mouth, trickling down slowly. Tucker stared in shocked as the rain started to pour down around him. He felt cold and numb. Tucker trembled as he stared at the lifeless body that looked back at him with twisted horror. Those empty eyes stared at nothing. A gaping hole was all that was left of the boy's chest. There was very little blood though Tucker noticed, such a large hole yet barely any blood. The lightning must have done it, his mind reeled, he did this, he killed him but how? That couldn't have been him? He wasn't a Mage, was he? He wanted to run away, everyone was staring at him. His legs wouldn't move, they felt like they were filled with lead.

He felt a warm hand slip into his, his eyes breaking away from the horror of what he did. He looked, it was the girl, her face was swollen, purple and broken, but she was still smiling.

"Thank you," she said, her voice was soft and reassuring. "You saved my life."

"I..."

"Tucker... What have you done?" Shianni's voice sounded desperate and pleading, as she held tightly to his shoulders.

Tucker wasn't sure if it was Shianni that was trembling or him, perhaps both. The lightning cracked so loudly that he could feel the ground tremble, making him flinch. The rain was now pouring over him, drenching every inch of him, but his mind was still unable to wrap around what had happened. It was the girl's soft voice that brought his attention back.

"What's your name?" the girl whispered in his ear, she squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"Tucker..."

"I would say nice to meet you but... Under the circumstance... My name is Elissa."

Her words were barely registered, he stared down at the ground, letting the rain roll off him, into a pond at his feet. What would Mama think? She'd hate him. He was a monster. How could she love him now after what he had done. He could still feel his sister hovering, holding his shoulders firmly, but he couldn't bring himself to look at her. Tucker could feel her hands shaking, they were numb and wet. He hated the rain.

He wanted to take back the day and go back to when he wasn't a killer, go back to when Mama woke him this morning. He should have been slower with his chores. Maybe if he hadn't rushed, then this would already have happened, and he wouldn't have been here, he wouldn't have saved... He gave the girl a sideways glance, her dark brown hair looked almost black and slick, sticking to the side of her face, but her blue eyes stared back at him. She had such kind eyes, and even though she had just suffered at the hands of another elf she looked at him with admiration. No, this was good. If he hadn't rushed, if he hadn't been here when he was, she would be dead. Flynn would have killed her, he was sure of this.

The sound of metal footsteps rang in his ears. They would come and take him away, lock him up or maybe even hang him. He would never be able to go home again. He felt Shianni pull him tightly against her chest, as if holding him tighter would keep them from taking him.

Tucker turned and saw six guards and two very large Templars moving swiftly upon them. Tucker and Elissa held tight onto each other.

"Do not worry Tucker, I will not let any harm come to you," she spoke with confidence, he really wished he could believe her.

The few elves that lingered quickly departed as the guards came into sight, leaving just the three of them and the corpse of Flynn. Even Rayln had taken off back to whatever hole he had crawled out of.

"Spread out, secure the area, and get as much information as you can here," the guard commander shouted as he turned to examine Flynn's body.

The Templars flanked them and Tucker wanted to run. Panic filled him as his skin felt like a million little spiders were crawling across his body. All he wanted was to flee anywhere away from this place. He felt like a rabbit caught in the jaws of a wolf, waiting for it to bite down with it's mighty teeth.

One of the Templars shoved Shianni back, grabbing Tucker's arm and pulling him away. He felt Elissa's hand slip from his and he heard Shianni's desperate shout to leave him alone. The Templar was not gentle as he shoved Tucker to the ground. He fell onto his stomach with such force the air was knocked from him. His head bounced off the muddy ground and a small puddle of water pooled around his face. There was a pressure on his back as a heavy foot pressed him down, making it difficult for him to draw a breath. He gasped and the Templar yanked his arms back behind him, Tucker was sure the man was trying to rip them off but he didn't cry out. He wouldn't give them the satisfaction of crying. There was cold metal clamped onto his wrists and his stomach rolled. It felt like his life was being sucked out of him, as if being drained away bit by bit.

"Let him go!" Elissa growled, as she attempted to shove the Templar. "Let go of him now, I demand it!"

"I am sorry miss, but Mages are dangerous, we can not let him free. You have seen with your eyes what an untrained Mage can do," the Templar said pointing at Flynn's remains.

"He did not do this! Are you blind as well as stupid?" Elissa spat pointing up to the sky, as if by command the thunder rumbled and lightning cracked across the sky. "The boy was struck down by lighting, Tucker attempted to save me from him, when lightning struck him dead."

"I am not a fool miss, though you seem to take me as one. The boy is vibrating with magic, I can feel it from him and around the... body. I am sorry but his fate will be sealed depending on the findings." The Templar's voice was sympathetic, even as he pressed his foot down harder on Tuckers back, pushing him into the mud as a reminder of who was in charge.

"The findings? What do you plan on doing to my friend?" Elissa's voice had a hint of panic to it.

The Templar remained silent, watching the guards as they walked around the grounds to speak to some of the elder elves. Elissa face became flush. Tucker watched as her hands balled into tight fists. He sucked in a tight breath. He wanted to tell her to go and just leave him. He had heard story's of Templars killing people for interfering with their job. He didn't want her to die for him. He was just grateful that Shianni was quiet. She understood what the Templars would do, or maybe she wanted him to be gone too. Maybe...

"Do to know who I am?" Elissa howled, but the Templar remained silent.

Elissa growled and kicked the Templar but her boot bounced off the metal under the skirt, making an audible clank. This got the Templar's attention as he looked down at her.

"I am Elissa Cousland! My father is Bryce Cousland, the Teyrn of Highever, and a very good friend of King Maric! So I would advise you, unless you want me to tell the King how horrible you treat his people, Let... Him... Go!"

Tucker felt the world around him had come to a stop, everyone around him stopped talking, moving or even breathing, and stared at the young girl who was glaring at the Templar. The only sound was the heavy rain splashing against the armor. He felt the pressure of the Templar's foot disappeared as he was dragged up to his knees by his arm, and pulled at his wrists as the shackles twisted, cutting into his skin painfully.

"I am sorry, m'lady, but even so, I cannot free him... The most I can do is to take him straight to the circle, instead of striking him down for the murder of one of his own."

"But he saved my life..." All the fight seemed to have drained from her now, she just stared with her eyes filled with sympathy and regret.

The Templar was going to kill him, he knew it. But she... the daughter of a noble, not just any noble, but the Teyrn of Highever, and he stuck his neck out for her and almost had it cut off. Yet stepping in and helping her. If anything this was something he would never forget.

"ELISSA!" a voice echoed through the streets as a young man ran towards them at a dead run. His face etched with worry and soaked to the bone in his fine clothes that were likely a rich purple, but now were black and clinging to his body.

"Fergus!" she screeched, plowing into her brothers arms. He held her close, pulling her back to get a look at her. Tucker watched as Fergus' face changed from one of relief to confusion then quickly melding into anger.

Fergus' fingers bushed lightly over the swollen bruises on Elissa's face, although she hardly seemed to notice the pain as she clung onto her brother's arms.

"Elissa, Maker's blood, what happened? Who did this to you?"

But before she could answer, Fergus quickly assessed what happened when his eyes fell onto a shackled and disheveled Tucker. His eyes burned with hatred as he released his grasp on Elissa, taking two quick steps forward, he pulled his arm back as he swung. His fist connected with a dull thud to the side of Tucker's face. The elven boy fell back and the Templars made no move to intervene. They stood and watched as Tucker laid in a heap, the side of his face began to swell.

"Fergus, NO! It wasn't him!" she cried, grabbing hold of her brother's arm to pull him back.

He could hear her shouts for her brother to stop, but everything was spinning as Tucker rolled to lay on his back in the mud and stared up at the dark clouds, letting the rain wash away some of the mud caked on his face. His jaw ached, he was sure it was broken. The pain bloomed up the side was making his head throb. Shianni kneeled beside him, helping him sit up when the Templar grabbed her shoulders to pull her away. This time she fought back.

"DON'T TOUCH ME SHEM," she growled. "He is my brother and I won't let you treat him like this."

"He's your brother no longer girl. He is a Mage, now go home, there's nothing left for you here," the Templar spoke dryly, holding firmly onto Shianni's arm as she squirmed against him iron grip.

Fergus knelt down in front of Tucker, reaching out to wipe more of the mud from the boy's face. Tucker flinched away from his touch. Fergus frowned. "I am sorry, I should have listened before... assuming. Thank you for my sister's life, she told me what you did when others just stood by and did nothing."

Fergus looked up at the Templars then stood tall, every ounce of him screamed noble as he glared at the Templars. "What is to happen to the boy?" he asked.

"The mage is to be executed for killing an innocent. It's the rules, Ser."

"EXECUTED!" Fergus shouted, crossing his arms firmly across his chest. Elissa gasped, while Shianni bellowed out curses and was now fighting to free herself from the Templar's hold, but Tucker sat with his head hung between his knees, resigning to whatever fate they would lay out for him. The Templar raised a hand to silence the two young nobles who were now shouting at him.

"Of course, seeing as the mage saved your life, M'lady, I will be willing to stay my hand and take him back to the Circle, where he can learn to control his powers and will no longer be a bother to anyone."

"Bother to anyone?" Shianni snapped. "My brother has never been a bother to anyone, he's the sweetest kindest soul one could ever meet!" She sobbed as tears formed in her eyes. "Please Ser, please let me take him home, he won't hurt anyone I promise," she begged, still tugging weakly against the Templar's grasp.

Shianni's words of plea for his freedom brought everything down around him. Tucker hung his head between his knees, as the tears fell freely, leaving streaks down his muddy face.

"I just want to go home," he sobbed. "T...tomorrow is my nameday, I was suppose to get the eggs, flour...and..." His whimper turned into sobs, his whole body trembled. He wanted to die, he didn't want to be taken away to live somewhere else with strangers. He would be better off dead. Tucker pulled at the shackles that bound his wrists, he wanted to break free from it all, he needed to. He kicked harder as his blood beaded around the shackles, he growled, frustrated.

A hand slipped under his chin pulling his head up, his golden eyes met her blue ones, and even with the rain Tucker could see Elissa was crying too.

"I am so, so sorry Tucker, can you ever forgive me?" she whispered.

He stared at her and found he could not forgive. He thought he could but he didn't have it in him. If she hadn't come here everything would be alright, he would be home by now and helping his Mother bake, and she... But her eyes, they were full of regret that tugged at his heart. It was a simple lie if nothing else, he nodded and she smiled weakly.

Elissa looked up at the Templar and scowled. "Could you at least let him say goodbye to his sister? I owe him at least that much."

The Templar sighed in frustration, releasing his grasp on Shianni as she fell to her knees beside Tucker, grasping at him with desperation, tucking his head under her chin as he cried softly in her arms.

"Tell mama I'm sorry, tell her I love her and I'll miss her everyday." He sobbed, struggling within his shackles, wanting desperately to return his sisters embrace. Shianni sensing his need for affection, grasped a hold of him tighter as his cries turning to sobbing hiccups. "T..tell Papa I didn't mean to be bad, tell him I'll miss him too."

"Y...you're not bad Tuck, you've never been bad. Please don't blame yourself for this, it's not your fault," she whisper into his hair.

"I'll miss you too, Shianni. Please look after Mama, this will kill her please, please take care of her."

Shianni nodded, holding him tighter to her. "I will, I promise Tuck, please be safe and don't do anything to make them turn you into one of those mindless freaks, okay?" she said pulling his face up to hers, kissing his forehead lightly. "I love you squirt. Forever."

"I love you too sis. Forever." he whispered as the Templar yanked him up to his feet roughly. The Templar gave a salute to the Couslands, but ignoring a sobbing Shianni who was still sitting on the ground in a puddle of mud.

"M'lady... Ser ... I must take this mage back to the tower now, and I assure you he will make it there unharmed," he spoke hastily and turned to give Tucker a small shove towards the entrance of the alienage.

Tucker looked around, he tried to put everything to memory. This had been his home for the short ten years of his life. Everything was changing all because of one Shem girl, and his noble ideas on saving her life. He didn't know what his life would be like now, that scared him the most. Just as scary as it was to lose his family. His loved ones would always wonder where he was or if he was still alive. He was no longer Tucker the elf, he was just a mage and that made him even more worthless now. Not only did the Shem see him as dirt, the Maker himself was now closed off to him. His life was over at this point. He didn't care anymore.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated my wonderful friend and Beta ArcturasB, to whom this chapter wouldn't have been. She liked Tucker so much that she asked that for this so we could get to know him better, and I'm so very glad she did. I hope you like it my dear. I enjoyed writing this and to see a little more into Tuck and his hardships of his life.

I had never really thought about adding Interludes to the story, but I think you will likely see more of them every so often and they wont be all about OC's either.

I want to thank all my readers and reviewers also those who alert as well. I appreciate every single one of you. I love to hear what your feelings are about the story and how it's progressing don't be shy.

And I would love to thank my dear betas ArcturasB and Jinx1983 also to my guest beta Pinoko K Thank you very much ladies, you are my awesome and without you this story would be a messy dribble. One last thank you to my amazing and awesome husband Falllenangelz (yes he writes as well) for going over this chapter, and being my rock. You are most amazing and I'm a lucky woman to have you in my life, and I'm sorry this chapter made you cry. *grin*