AN - Hey guys, I'm SO sorry about the massive gap, but this fic may be on hiatus for a little while! Let me explain. Everything that can go wrong in my house right now is going wrong: as well as having no kitchen, no heating, no hot water and no living space, I've also got no internet. So, there's no way for me to upload ficlets! Argh! I'm uploading from a friend's house right now, so as soon as my internet is back up and running (which I hope will be around early March), TDD will be regularly updated again. Thanks for all your patience! Love you all :D ~Witchcraft

I also considered a Mage Warden for this, but I'm trying to involve more NPCs at the moment. So, for those of you who have forgotten, Dagna is the adorable little dwarf girl you meet in Orzammar who wants to study with the mages. I put in a good word for her in the Tower when I played. She's too cute. Aldenon, however, is my own creation. He's like Orzammar's equivalent of Flounder.

Part Of Your World (The Little Mermaid) – Dagna

As the door slammed behind her father, Dagna sighed, and threw the tome onto her bed beside her. Her pet nug, Aldenon, looked sadly at her, and if a nug could comfort someone, he would have. Instead, he nuzzled her thigh affectionately. Dagna stroked his back, looking forlornly at the books and gadgets lining her bedroom walls.

She supposed her father would never understand her need to see the world above, to study with those amazing people they called mages. He wanted her to marry and continue his family trade, but where was the adventure in raising a family? Of blacksmiths, nonetheless?

"I just don't see things the way he does," she sighed aloud, twisting a carved runestone in her hands. "I don't see how a world that make such wonderful things… could be bad."

Aldenon snuffled resignedly. Dagna smiled, motioning to her shelves. "Look at this stuff!" she shrugged. "Isn't it neat? Wouldn't you think my collection's complete? Wouldn't you think I'm the girl – the girl who has everything…?" Aldenon trailed at her heels as she paced the floor. "Look at this trove, treasures untold! How many wonders can one cavern hold?" she wondered, enthralled, before stopping short. "Looking around here, you'd think – 'Sure. She's got everything.'"

She moved along the shelves, lifting trinkets and showing them to an eager Aldenon. "I've got gadgets and gizmos aplenty!" she boasted. "I've got whosits and whatsits galore! You want thingamabobs? I've got twenty!" She placed the old amulet back on the table, and sighed. "But who cares?" she asked, shrugging. "No big deal…I want more…!"

She let out a heavy sigh, leaning on her windowsill and looking out over Orzammar. Everything was so red. "I wanna be where the mages are," she whispered. "I wanna see, wanna see 'em casting! Walking around with those – what do you call 'em?" she asked Aldenon, who cocked his head. "Oh – staves," she giggled, tickling the nug's toes.

"Being a dwarf, you don't get too far," she lamented, wiggling her short, stubby fingers in exasperation. "Magic's required for dreaming, learning! Strolling along through the – what's the word again?" She lifted Aldenon into her arms, smiling. "Fade!"

She looked upward through her window, imagining the strange lyrium coloured sky she'd heard about. "Up where they walk," she cried, "up where they run! Up where they stay all day in the sun! Wandering free – wish I could be part of that world!"

She threw herself onto her bed, squeezing her shoulders in excitement. "What would I give if I could live out of these caverns?" she wondered, gazing at the heavy stone ceiling above her. "What would I pay to spend a day warm on the land?" She leaned on her arm, turning to see Aldenon. "Betcha on land, they understand," she sighed, thinking of her stuffy father. "Bet they don't reprimand their daughters! Bright young mages –" She motioned dully to her bookshelves. "Sick of pages! Ready to stand…!"

"And ready to know what the magi know!" she cried, leaping to her feet with new determination. "Ask them my questions and get some answers! What's a fire rod and why does it – what's the word?" She grinned at Aldenon, "Burn?"

She clasped her hands before her face in desperation. "When's it my turn?" she begged to no one in particular. "Wouldn't I love, love to explore that world up above…?"

She looked out of the window again, watching the traders and blacksmiths and nug herders and the like bustle around and imagining them to be taller, slimmer, and robe-clad. "Out of the city," she breathed, resting her elbows on the sill. "Wish I could be part of that world…"

She'd have her chance. She was sure of it.

-0-0-0-0-

Rebel dwarves are too cute. Imagine if Dagna and Sandal ever met? It would be so sweet you could dip them in your tea.

Also - thank you for all the awesome reviews and suggestions! Keep them coming, and I'll get back to you ASAP with them :D

Up Next: Hawke wonders if the sun will ever shine again in her life.