It wasn't until Anna entered the arena that she realised the flaw in Fenris' plan. She couldn't see where she stepped, couldn't see her foe - and she couldn't hear anything but the roaring of the crowd and the disembodied voice she remembered from her last Challenge.

"Welcome, one and all, the Second Part of the Three-fold Challenge! Let the Dog Lord place her life on the line and prove her cunning! Advert your eyes, Lords and Ladies, for our pretty Champion is facing one of the most fascinating creatures ever caught and caged underneath this stage! Here it comes - THE GORGON!" The cheering from the crowd rose to a cacophony of sound and Anna pulled her sword from its sheath. She had no idea how she was to locate and kill a creature she couldn't see, but she had to do it. She couldn't let a small disadvantage such as not being able to see keep her from winning: Fenris depended on her. She would not let him down now. She moved forward slowly, cautiously, trying to listen for her opponent through the noise from the gallery. She remembered a few details from what Fenris had told her before they had confirmed just how sturdy the table was - a snake-like creature, poisonous fangs, sharp claws, eyes that could paralyze its victim to easier eat them alive. Wait, that was it. Snake-like. Snakes slither. A snake on sand has a special sound that she remembered from the exercise yard that time some idiot had disturbed a nest of black-tongued adders. If she could just tune out the people and listen for the sound of scales slithering over sand… Anna stood still as a statue, sword ready, trying to sharpen her ears as much as humanly possible.

The crowd quieted down, waiting with bated breath for what would happen. The human stood immobile, as if already paralyzed, seemingly undaunted. What was she doing? There were whispers. Someone hollered "she's a goner!". A few laughed. The creature that had been released shortly after Anna had entered the arena moved slowly, slithering across the ground towards the woman, thinking it had an easy meal. It was as big as a horse, with the body of a snake and the arms and head of a man. It was completely covered in dark green scales, making it glow like an emerald on yellow silk. It was a predator of the worst kind, and it was heading straight for Anna, who seemed frozen to the spot.

Anna listened. Waited. Prayed. Then she heard the sound; scales rustling through sand. The gorgon. It was approaching slowly, as if cautious, but she could hear it gaining speed. She raised her sword, tried to listen for its location. There! It had to be there! Anna drew a deep breath and braced herself. She waited. The crowd waited. Fenris bit his lip until he tasted blood, praying in desperation to anyone who would listen that the potion had worked. Then everything happened very quickly. The gorgon attacked. Anna swung her sword. There was a screech of pain and black blood on the sand. She had struck well and the sword had found its goal.

Then, suddenly, there was a fury of blows from inhumanly strong scaled arms with razor sharp claws, and a two handed sword flashing in the sunlight. Anna's hair shone like spun gold as she did battle with the furious, hissing creature completely intent on biting and eating her. She danced like a dervish across the sand, a whirlwind of death and steel. The crowd was frozen in fascination, fear, and anticipation. The silence was deafening; all they could be heard was the gorgon's shrieks of anger and pain and the cries from Anna whenever it managed to scratch at her skin. Fenris held his breath until he felt dizzy. Please, he begged mentally. Please, please, please. Then, what he had been praying for happened. The sword swung through the air one last time and with one elegant gesture Anna severed the gorgon's head clean of its body. Its dying shriek echoed through the arena, then there was only silence.

The silence lasted only a brief moment, then the gallery exploded. There was cheering, yelling, cursing, singing… and in the middle of the unending din, Fenris whispered just two words, aimed at no one in particular and anyone who listened to his prayers: Thank you.

Anna collapsed on her bunk in exhaustion, ignoring the fact that her wet hair immediately started soaking the pillow. She was done with the whole bloody mess, and never ever ever getting out of bed again. Not even for seriously hot sex with Fenris. Nope. Not even if he did that thing with his tongue for over an hour. One hundred percent done. She blinked up at the ceiling and muttered a curse. Still nothing but darkness. She was almost starting to get a little nervous; how was she supposed to face the next challenge if she couldn't see? But being who she was, she wasn't particularly worried. There was really no point in worrying about something she couldn't do anything about anyways. She stretched a little, feeling her muscles move with great reluctance but without much pain. She was sore, but the bath had done wonders. She thought back on the battle and felt a pang of disappointment; she still had no clue what a gorgon looked like. It would have been fascinating to see such a creature.

A knock on the door pulled her from her musings, and she went to open it.

"Yes?" She said, dismissively, trying to act as if she could see whoever was on the other side. She was taken completely surprise, though, at the voice that came to her.

"Anna." Her face lit up with happiness.

"Fenris!" Then she was in his arms and she forgot aching muscles and unseeing eyes. His mouth tasted of sand and heat and salt and his hair was soft under her fingers as she pulled him close.

"How long can you stay?" She whispered as he undid the belt holding the robe closed.

"Till dawn" he whispered as he pulled her down onto the thin cot.

Neither of them spoke for quite some time after that.

It was late, and in the darkness of Anna's tiny room there was a sense of safety and comfort that was new, almost frightening. Anna's slender fingers were tracing the shape of the scars on his chest, but there was no pain connected to the touch. Instead, it felt as if a soothing balm was being rubbed into flesh that had ached for as long as he could remember. He stared up at the ceiling, or where he expected the ceiling to be, and ran his finger through her mussed hair.

"My first memory is pain" he began. Her hand stilled for a moment, then continued moving. "No, agony. An agony I can't even begin to describe. I remember… I remember my skin being split open, struggling against the bonds holding me, and then… molten heat, like lava, pouring into my veins. It was…" his voice trailed off. He didn't want to remember. "I don't know who I was before. I can't… The memory burned out of me then. With the… with the lyrium." They laid in silence for several moments. Then he went on, wanting to tell her this even though the words were so difficult to get out. He needed to tell her.

"My master… he gets more power performing spells when I'm present. He can draw power from me. He calls me his… 'lyrium source'. It hurts. A lot. Like my flesh is on fire." He waited for her to make some sort of quip or comment, but all that happened was that her arms tightened around him. He continued.

"I can sense… magic. It burns. This ache… its bone deep." Anna hesitated, then she asked the question burning in her mind.

"Do they always hurt? The scars." She felt devastated that she had been hurting him all this time, just by putting her hands on his body.

"No… not always. Not… not when you touch them." He whispered. The silence stretched again, for several minutes. Then, he felt rather than heard her shift her position so that she was half-lying, half-sitting over him. Her hands found his chest and stroked their way down, soon followed by her tongue. It lit a trail of fire down his body, waking his hunger.

"Thank you" she whispered against the soft skin where his thigh met his hip, "for telling me." Then her mouth found where he really wanted it and he sank back into the mattress with a low moan, letting her do what she pleased. And for once, his lyrium markings did not ache. Instead, it was almost as if they… hummed.

When Anna woke the morning of the second battle, the bed was cold and she was alone in darkness. The darkness itself didn't alarm her; her little room had no window and a sturdy wooden door, so once the candles had been extinguished there was no light whatsoever. She felt around a bit at first, trying to find the man that had lain next to her during the night, but there was no one.

"Fenris?" She called out sweetly, but received no reply. Odd. Slowly she made her way out of bed and felt for the table, the candle, and the little piece of flint she used to light it. She heard the flint spark to life and felt the warmth from the little flame, but she saw nothing. Anna's blood ran cold. She had lit the candle - but she still saw nothing. She raised her hands to her face in the vain hope that she had a blindfold or a piece of cloth on, but nothing. She felt skin, and when her finger accidentally touched an eyeball it hurt. Still darkness. She called out again, hesitantly this time.

"Fenris?" But there was only silence. Anna started to tremble where she stood, suddenly feeling very small and vulnerable. She was all alone in the darkness. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself and bring some warmth to her suddenly cold body. Her throat felt thick, like she was on the verge of crying. It was disconcerting; she had kept her head through everything she had been through so far, through imprisonment and torture, and never given in to fear or despair. But as she stood there, blinded, cold and alone, she felt wetness slip down her cheeks. Tears. She was crying. What if she never regained her sight? How was she to face the next two tasks without being able to see? Could she even save Fenris now? Save herself? Save their baby? Oh Maker, she hadn't even told him about the baby. She had lain with him the previous night, given him all her passion, and she had not let on that she couldn't see him, and much less that she was carrying his child. Anna sank down on to the cot, slowly, wearily, wetness still making its way down her cheeks. She hugged herself tighter.

"Fenris" she whispered, and even to her own ears it sounded broken.

No one answered her.