Fenris

"Fenris!" Abby shrieked as I was just finishing attempting to get food together. She kept pulling me away from it, and the food was a little bit of a mess.

"Abby, just hang on for a minute." I called trying not to get irritated. She couldn't help it. It was a chant I had to keep going in my head. That girl still had a penchant for finding trouble. She had already managed to break three different vases and a crate of wine, taken a fall down the stairs, bruising her knee in the process, and knocked over a suit of armor, nearly taking her head with the ancient sword. We were going to have to move to the Amell estate tomorrow. It was too dangerous for her here.

She screamed again, a blood-curdling sound that shoved fear through me. It was followed with a loud crash. What had she managed to do this time? I rushed from the room, hunting her. She was supposed to stay in the main hall, but of course she wasn't there.

"Where are you?" I yelled trying not to panic. There was no answer. I ran through the lower rooms, calling her name. I wasn't getting an answer. Panic was welling up in me as I ran through the second floor. I hit the library door, and it would budge. And worse than that, I could smell smoke. "Abby!" I yelled shoving on the door. I pressed my ear to the wood and heard a faint coughing noise.

I ghosted into the room and rushed to the fireplace. She must have attempted to light the fire in here, but something had happened. The rug was on fire. I quickly got it out and turned to find her. The shelves had fallen and were blocking the door. My heart stopped as I saw her crumbled body laying under a pile of books. I shoved them off and turned her.

"Abby, wake up." I didn't know what to do. The fear was pushing all reasoning away. I laid my head against her chest and felt a bit of relief as I heard a heartbeat and felt the steady rise and fall of it. She was alive. She shifted and made a small noise. "Come on, Abby, open your eyes." I pleaded.

She coughed and her eyes fluttered open. Tears welled up in them. I gently lifted her into my lap and cradled her as she cried. Finally the tears stopped and she curled into me. "My hand hurts." She whispered.

"Let me see." I said and pulled back to look at her hand. "What did you do?" I asked as I saw the burn across her palm.

"I was trying to find a book to read. But there wasn't enough light. So I tried to light the fireplace, but it wasn't cooperating. Then…" She trailed off and curled into me more. "I tripped over that armor there, but it wasn't just armor. There's a skeleton in it." She said pointing towards one of the left over bodies from Danarius' stay. I never used this wing of the house so I hadn't bothered to dispose of anything in it.

"How did the fire start?" I asked.

"When I fell, the tinder lit the rug. I was trying to get to the bucket on the shelf when it fell." She explained and looked so pitiful I couldn't even work up irritation at her.

"How did you manage to burn your hand?"

"When the rug caught fire, I moved it towards the fireplace. I was trying to keep it from lighting anything else on fire." She then looked up at me. "Am I in trouble?"

I hugged her to me. She could have been killed. "No. But next time I ask you to stay somewhere, stay there."

"Fenris, why is there a body in here?" She asked shivering against me.

"That's a long story, Abby." I shifted her back. "Does anything other than your hand hurt?" She shook her head. "Then stand right there while I move these shelves so we can get out. Here, drink this. It will help with the pain." I handed her a potion and then waited for her to do as I asked. She drank the potion and then moved back to watch me as I shoved the shelves back upright. I gathered her back up and carried her out of the room.

"Something's burning." She said as we got back to the main hall.

"Food!" I yelled and sat her down. "Stay here." I then ran for the kitchen. Sure enough, the food was burnt beyond anything edible. Smoke billowed out of the room and fire licked at the walls. I grabbed a bucket and quickly doused the flames. I leaned against the doorframe and eyed the damage. I ran my hand through my hair as I thought about how much trouble one small child really could be.

"Uh, oh." Abby said looking in the room around me.

"I thought I told you to stay in the other room." I snapped. She looked up at me wide eyed. I sighed and crouched down to her. "I'm sorry, Abby. Let's see what I can find to feed you. Then it's bed time. Maybe you can't find trouble if you're asleep."

"I'm sorry." She said as tears filled her eyes. I hugged her to me and made soothing noises. Damn her for getting to me so easily. And damn her for giving Anders and Varric so much to gloat over tomorrow.

"It's alright." I said and spotted the plate of cookies. I was sure it was a really bad idea, but she was hungry and it was with in reach. Besides the sooner I got her full, the sooner I could put her to bed. "How about some of these cookies?" I offered and grabbed the plate with one hand while I carried her with the other.

"Mother's cookies!" She said happily as she grabbed one and bit into it.

"Mother's cookies?" I asked. These were a gift from Orana. I had mentioned once to Abby how much I liked them when I had one at her house. I mentioned maybe getting Orana to make me a batch. She had smiled and said that could be arranged. Abby had proceeded to bring me a batch nearly every week.

"Uh, huh. See the mark on it?" She asked holding the cookie for me to look at. I nodded. I had always wondered if it was a w or an m. And what it stood for. "It's a bird for me. Mother must have left these for me."

"A bird? It's not a bird." I protested.

"Yes it is. See?" She said twisting it around. I then sort of saw it. A bird in flight in the distance.

"Why is it marked with a bird?"

"Cause that means they were for me. Mother did it so we wouldn't fight over them any more. She marked them with a sword for Carver cause he likes them and says he's gonna be a warrior. I bet he likes you a lot." She smiled at me as she bit into the cookie. I looked away quickly. I had never gotten a chance to meet her brother. He had been killed as they escaped from the Blight.

"And yours and your sisters is a bird?"

"Nope. Mine is a bird. Bethany's is a bunny. She likes them. And she's sweet and timid like them too. Don't tell her I said that. It would hurt her feelings." Abby said looking up at me. Bethany had been a sweet and timid girl. My heart hurt as I thought of watching Abby end her sister's misery.

"So you like birds?" I asked. I had never noticed this about her before.

"Nope." She said around a mouth full of cookie. She swallowed and smiled at me. "It's supposed to be a hawk. Cause I'm most like Daddy."

"So these are definitely from your mother?" I asked. Could Abby have been the one baking these cookies all this time? Or did she just give the recipe to Orana?

"Yep. Family secret. She taught me to make them. I can make them for you. Well, if we clean the kitchen up first."

"Maybe tomorrow." I said and took the plate and Abby back to the main hall. Maybe this wasn't going to be such a bad thing after all. Especially now knowing that Abby was the one bringing me the cookies all this time.