A/N: So, big reveal last chapter! How many of you called it? Haha~ I'm hoping not that many, because that would be too boring right? Onward then! Shall we delve deeper into this world? Of course we will!
Night had fallen over the city of Kirkwall. Few people were out that night due to it being a no moon night. Perfect for many kinds of devilish activities...
Mina tightened her leather corset and straightened the chainmail that was under it. She would take no chances and wanted to be sure that her weak spot was covered. She tied her hair back with a black strip of cloth then paused. She didn't recognise herself in the mirror. She looked like she was ready for a stealth mission from a spy movie she'd seen at the library. It was strange for her to think that she was about to go try to save her sister from whatever might've hurt her. She wasn't sure about what was waiting for her in that house. She wasn't sure any of them were safe. She wasn't sure if Ceras had been the only one that lived there.
A knock on the door shook Mina from her anxious thoughts. Keter trotted over, knowing what was to come. Mina opened the door to see Garrett and the others waiting for her. She smiled weakly at them and lead the way to Hightown. Like usual, a few gangs prowled the streets, but they were easily dispatched without much of a hassle. Mina made sure to stay back by Merrill only use her bow. Though, she was only too aware of a strange tingling in her fingers. She pretended she didn't know what it was, but inside she knew that it was her mana leaking out. It was only a matter of time before it needed to be released. She knew from Bethany's stories that magic build up was a very, very dangerous thing. She wondered if her 'phantom symphony' used any mana. She'd have to test it later.
A man with a dagger was coming up behind Varric to try and surprise attack him, but Mina sent a high pitched soundwave his way. He dropped his weapons, covered his ears, and fell to his knees yowling. Mina smirked and sent an arrow sailing into his back. No one messed with her big brother.
They made it to the estate Mina had seen earlier that day, and scouted the perimeter. Compared to how busy it'd been, it seemed almost abandoned. No lights were on; there wasn't even a sight of a fire to keep the house warm. It was almost eerie. The gardens looked haunted. Mina shivered and edged closer to Hawke. She was even more nervous about going inside.
"Are you sure this is the right house, Kitten?" Varric asked unsure as he managed to open a window. Mina looked up at the giant building looming above them and back at her brother.
"Yeah. This is definitely the one. It looked so much more inviting during the day," she whispered back. And, in they went.
Keter immediately picked up on a scent and darted to the left. Mina and Garrett followed while the other three went right. They stepped carefully, trying not to make the wood squeak underfoot. It was tough enough to do slowly, but Mina almost fell when they had to hide when a small Elven boy came around a corner. Mina hid behind a thick curtain, and Hawke climbed on top of a cabinet. He looked truly ridiculous. Mina had to hold in a laugh. Keter hid under a small couch, just barely. For once, Mina was glad that rich people had a bunch of useless crap sitting around their homes. It was useful for hiding.
Several minutes later, after no more incidents, they came to a large room with chandeliers, candle holders, banquet tables, and a grand piano. Mina spun around, amazed at it, even in the dark. The walls were painted with light blues and whites with all manner of creatures. On the wall behind the piano, was the likeness of Andraste herself. Mina didn't believe in the Chantry, but she'd always admired Andraste. The stories had to be somewhat true at least. She was beautiful, kind, and brave. Mina wanted to be half the woman they said Andraste was.
Garrett came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"I thought you said the Chantry was rubbish," he whispered in her ear.
"It is. Andraste is still inspirational. She's beautiful," Mina mumbled.
"So are you," he replied.
Keter started growling, alerting them that they'd been spotted. They both spun around to see a thin figure looking at them curiously.
"What are you doing here?" a quiet male voice demanded. Mina's eyes gleamed with triumph. She recognised that voice as the voice of the man who'd she'd talked to. He was the one they had been looking for. She stepped forward and nodded at Keter who herded the man closer to the waiting couple.
"Th-that beast! Who are you?" he demanded a little louder, obviously identifying Ceras' wolf.
Mina circled him once and got really close to his face. His eyes widened, but he didn't say anything else.
"You remember me from this afternoon," It wasn't a question, but he nodded, "Where's Ceras? What did you do to her?"
He looked at Keter then at Hawke, who was standing far enough away that his face was still shrouded. Mina waited a few seconds longer before smiling wickedly at him.
"Where is Ceras? What did you do to her?" she said, punctuating every word venomously.
"I'd tell her what she wants to know, serah. She gets impatient easily," Hawke added ominously. Mina's mind wandered for a second.
'The way he said that was incredibly sexy.' She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and stared daggers at the man before her. His lips were firmly shut. She sighed and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Keter snapped his jaws mere centimeters from the Elf's face. Mina rolled him over onto his stomach and twisted his arm behind him at a sharp angle. He took in a sharp breath and groaned.
"Look, either you tell me exactly what happened or I get violent. I don't want to get violent. I must warn you, I have a very short temper. For instance, if you don't tell me now, I'm going to break your fucking arm," she snarled.
"Hah! I've not seen this side of you, sister," came Ceras' raspy voice. Mina looked up in the direction she'd heard her sister. The Elf beneath her gasped and started struggling to breath free.
"Lady Ceras! H-how?! I killed you!" he cried.
Ceras let out a cruel sounding laugh. "Oh, Zander. Sweet, foolish Zander," she said, slinking out from the shadows, "Haven't I taught you better than that? If you kill someone... make sure they're dead."
Mina couldn't believe how rough she looked. Her hair was a mess and she looked dirty, as if she'd crawled through a field of muddy grass. Beside her, appeared the missing Fenris. Mina couldn't help but glare at him. She was mad at him for being gone so long. She figured that he'd gone with her, but she didn't think he'd completely disappear for over a month. He looked at them all with the same bored expression he always had, which frustrated Mina even more.
"Mina, please let Zander up," Ceras said calmly. Mina, still stunned, did so, watching Keter back away too. His master was back, so he'd be leaving her side too. Just like Fenris. Maybe wolves were drawn to Ceras. Mina scowled at the ground thinking about Fen'Harel. At least she still had one of them that was just hers. And she had her birds. The creepy raven and her charming Hawke.
Zander stood and rubbed the arm Mina had been holding hostage. He' barely had time to move before Ceras was there, her sword to his throat.
"You don't cross those who are kind to you, Zander," she said before slitting his throat. Mina had to look away as the blood bubbled up and spewed down his front. When he collapsed to the floor, Ceras turned and started walking back across the room to Fenris.
"No, Ceras. Don't you dare walk away from me!" Mina shouted angrily.
Ceras turned her head and raised an eyebrow, "Mina, people are sleeping."
Mina ground her teeth together and clenched her fists, "I don't care. i want to know why you hid all this from us. It's not like we would've asked for money or anything! I trusted you enough to tell you about where I came from, but you couldn't mention that you have a fucking estate?! Do you trust me so little, sister?"
Ceras sighed and brushed some hair out of her face, "It didn't seem important. I don't see why you're so mad."
"You don't see why-? Are these servants of yours, or are they slaves you dragged away from their families?" Mina was pissed. She didn't fully know why either. She wanted to hit Ceras. She wanted to yell and demand answers even if it meant getting some bruises and bleeding a little. She wanted to figure out what the hell was going on in her life for once. She needed to know why things were happening. She was tired of just letting things happen. She'd figure out why and do something about them. No more would she just let things go by while she watched.
Ceras frowned, "You know they're not slaves. This is my stepmother's house, and these are her servants." Mina saw Fenris whisper something to Ceras and Ceras nodded in response.
'Why are they so buddy buddy all of a sudden? The fuck is her problem? Little Princess coming in and changing everything!' she thought.
Mina ran forward and punched Ceras in the back of the head, trying to get her attention. Ceras responded with a punch to Mina's ribs, which sent pain rippling through her entire body. For a second, she saw spots everywhere. Stubbornly, she kept fighting. She kept hitting Ceras and taking hits. They didn't fight dirty; no biting or hair pulling.
Finally, Mina thought she could see Ceras getting tired, so she hit her in the face and screamed. The older sister backed up and bowed her head, signaling defeat.
Mina looked at her, breathing heavily, fighting the blackness taking over her vision. She didn't feel like it'd been much of a fight, but she could see that Ceras' lip was bleeding, an eye was swollen, and she had a few bruises already forming. Mina breezed past her sister, feeling rage still swarming within. As she passed Fenris, he stopped her.
"You know she let you win," he muttered, "You were too angry." He seemed cold towards her. She didn't like it. Mina looked him in the eyes, scowling.
"Yeah? I guess all mages are pissed off," she snapped. She regretted the words as soon as she said them. His eyes flashed with sadness before he looked away from her.
Mina walked away, ignoring her other three companions that rushed into the room. No doubt they'd heard the commotion. On her way through the dark halls, she lifted her hand and felt a gathering of mana. As if her body knew by instinct, a bright green flame appeared in her hand and lit her way.
Tears of anger fell from her eyes. She was a mage. And, more than that, she was a monster.
She didn't wait for the others to climb through the window; as soon as her feet hit the ground, she ran. She ran through Hightown and Lowtown right to the gates of Kirkwall. she ran to the woods and to her spot next to the river. It looked like where she so often sat and talked to Fen'Harel.
She sat there playing with the weird green fire she'd created. She didn't know why it was green. Bethany, Anders, and Merrill all had regular red fire. Maybe she was more of a danger than she thought.
Mina sat on a rock, legs pulled up to her chest, shaking. She was scared and angry. She wanted to disappear into the woods, never to be found again. At least not by her friends in Kirkwall. If she couldn't control herself, she would end up hurting them. Or, perhaps even killing them. She couldn't live with herself if she ended up killing anyone. Especially not Garrett. She cared about him too much. It wasn't that she didn't care about any of the others, but...
'It'd be worse if it were him because I...' She distracted herself from the thought by trying to play with the water. Maybe if she got the hang of things, she could learn how to use healing magic. She'd been pretty proficient in the clinic. She didn't see a reason that healing magic would be a problem for her. She refused to go to the circle. She was terrified of being made tranquil. Having no emotions or dreams seemed like an empty life.
It was past time that she went with Thalion to his clan. She'd see if the Keeper could teach her, and she'd protect them from the humans. Plus, she could do her work for Varric. It seemed like a good solution. She'd have to find him and start making arrangements as soon as possible. For the moment, she was exhausted and her legs felt too wobbly to move. Her body was starting to feel the fight. She groaned and slid off the rock and settled at the base of a nearby tree. There were bushes on either side of her, so she was hidden enough from anyone who might be passing by.
As her eyes fluttered shut, she thought sadly that she'd soon be leaving everything and everyone she'd grown so fond of. She felt as if she were going to be abandoning her home.
A/N: Don't read this if you haven't played Inquisition please. Seriously. Don't read this Author's Note! Not this time. Last chance. I just had an idea that seemed like a fantastic idea to write! I love the idea of the Elven Pantheon existing as well as the Maker and such. Soooo... What if Fenris was Elgar'nan? I mean, I can't write Fenris very well in my opinion, so I don't think I'll do it. But if anyone can write a good Fenris, you should do it. I'd totally read it!