I walked swiftly, making sure to keep a steady pace. I couldn't turn back, not now... I had come too far to make stupid choices. I turned to look over my shoulder. They were still hot on my trail. Crap. Why couldn't I have just been born a normal girl? Why did I have to become the champion of Kirkwall? I guess the day I decided to help out, was the day I gave up the chances of having a normal life. With both Orsino and Meredith dead, I had thought that maybe, my life would return to, at least an easy one. I was wrong. So very wrong. Their death's caused nothing but trouble. I'm constantly hunted. Usually by Tevinter recruits. Easy targets. I looked back once again to see who it was that was after me. Of course I had been right in assuming that they were both from Tevinter. From what I could make out it seemed there was two guards, one a slaver and the other... hmm a body guard. I wasn't sure; most of the Tevinter recruits they sent after us were usually dressed in similar clothing and armor, so I never really needed to tell the difference. I thought casually. This almost felt like a game that I couldn't escape... I was trapped. Forever in motion on this wheel that was life. "I'm sure you can run faster than that! How would it look for an elf to outrun the champion of Kirkwall?" Fenris shouted with a smirk. He loved to be chased. To him, it was a game. Fenris, one of my few remaining companions, was much quicker than I. He was a man with a tormented past, and hard to read emotions. He rarely smiled. I do not blame him though. He has no family left, and any hopes of finding his past died with his sister, Varania. I cared for him, but I feared to let him know about it. He was a man whose emotions I did not want to mess with. Isabella also had feelings for him, but she made it bluntly obvious. I don't know why I felt this way. The only people I had ever loved were my family. With both Mother, and Carver gone, it seemed the only family I had left were Gamlen and Bethany. Even with them, I still felt as if I were all alone... Bethany had been taken to the circle, so I was rarely ever allowed to visit her, and Gamlen had become a drunkard ever since Mother had passed. Every now and then, he would come to visit me in the estate, but it wasn't often, and his words were usually full of nonsense. I still enjoyed that he had taken the time out of his miserable life to come and visit though. Suddenly Fenris stopped. We had met a dead end, which left us with two options. Fight off the guards, a pretty simple task, or let the game continue and find a way around the end. I glanced towards Fenris. We had been running all day, so we finally decided to stop and face the fight. The game was over and now it was time for action. Fenris smirked towards me, signaling to begin the fight. The guards had not been warned of what they were up against. Fools. The lyruim in Fenris' veins began to glow a bright blue. Suddenly he phased his hand and stuck it through the guards head. Barely making his hand visible again, he grabbed hold of the guard and swung his body in the air. I perfectly sliced the body, which flew right into the other guard. First guard down. Fenris quickly drew his blade, and placed it into the skull of the other guard who had until now, lay unconscious. The task was simple enough, and was ended quickly. "When are they going to make the game harder?" Fenris asked in his attractive deep voice. I giggled. "I am not sure, but soon I hope. These Tevinter recruits are no match for us...” I said as I stared at the dead bodies. We could hear the sound of thudding boots. I looked over to Fenris once again and smirked. "Well it is time for us to take our leave...” Fenris said and off we went. Although I was not as fast as Fenris, I was definitely lighter than him. He picked me up and hurtled me towards a window. My heart fluttered as I felt his strong hands around my slim body. Now was not the time to get worked up. I elegantly landed through the window and into a kitchen. Fenris quickly followed. I heard an ear piercing scream and looked to see a frightened woman who looked to be around the age of 40. She had been standing at the door. I saw a loaf of bread sat upon the counter. Fenris looked to me, and quickly grabbed the loaf. The woman didn't dare to speak a word. Instead we both headed for the front door. I stopped dead in my tracks. I could hear many guards and the sounds of their boots. "They're here...” I whispered to Fenris. "Well then the front exit will not be a choice." Suddenly I could feel his muscular arms around my dainty waist. I was hoisted into the air and before I could process what was happening, I felt the wind blow through my hair, and press against my cheeks. Fenris had found a clothesline from a high window and had managed to grab hold of me, and swing. We landed through another window, slightly lower than the one which we had previously flown out of. The guards had not seen us and in the meantime we had managed to escape. We ran to the heart of the city, which was almost a maze. Running so fast, I felt almost if I was flying. I looked down and noticed that sometime while we were making an escape, Fenris had grabbed a hold of my hand. My cheeks flustered. I was glad that Fenris was looking ahead so that there was no way he would be able to see my reddened cheeks. As we dodged passing cattle, and dove under moving furniture, the guards’ footsteps seemed to fade in the distance. Eventually we ended back in Kirkwall. Our loving home of over 6 years. Fenris had let go of my hand once we had stopped running, but my heart felt as if it was going to beat out of its chest. Just being with him made my heart race. But he was spoken for, we were only friends. As long as Isabella kept her grip on him, that’s all we would ever be. Thinking that my heart slowed. It was painful to look at a man with whom I was clearly in love with, and see him with another. I thought to myself and eventually we ended back at my estate. Being as my estate was not far from his mansion, he often walked me home. He usually had an excuse as to why he had done it. "Why did you walk me home this time?" I asked smirking with curiosity. "Well, you may be the champion of Kirkwall, but you still need to be protected. They only way to protect you is with a strong man such as myself." He said as he pointed to his left arm making me laugh. "But I took out the Arishok... by myself...” I laughed slightly. "And what difference does that make? Every woman needs protection... I will be yours...” He said in his low yet attractively raspy voice. "Well thank you Fenris. It really means a lot." I said still giggling a bit. Although it was a small act of kindness, just the fact that he had not been cold and rude to me, made me feel as though he cared for me. He didn't though, and I couldn't let thoughts like that run through my mind. He belonged to Isabella, not as a slave or a servant, but as a lover. She was my friend, and clearly she was in love with him just as I was. I had no right to try and break up their relationship, yet a part of me wanted to. I wanted to be able to hold Fenris, and call him mine. As I watched Fenris slowly walk away, I wandered into the estate. Bodahn greeted me as usual, I casually responded and he handed me the letters that had arrived while I was away. "Junk, junk, of course even more requests. The Champion of Kirkwall is urgently needed" I said as I sarcastically read the front of the letters. "They always need some sort of my help. I'm starting to think Kirkwall is in love with chaos." As I said that I laid the letters neatly on my desk in the foyer and walked to my bedroom. As I lay on my bed, I wondered about random things. "Frodo severely needs a bath, he smells putrid. I can practically smell him from half a mile away." "I also need to visit the market soon; my food supply is starting to run low. I may just have Orana go to the market for me... No I need to get out... Alone for a while. Maybe that will help me control my unnerving feelings." Eventually the thought led me to think about how wonderful it must feel to be able to fulfill the lust of loving someone, and being able to hold them in your arms. To have someone to call your own. Someone you could hold on to and never want to let them go. Again Fenris wandered to my mind. I needed to stop having these feelings; they would only end up hurting me in time. Yet no matter how hard I tried, they kept coming. Like an endless waterfall the tears of my feelings rushed out of my eyes. I rarely slept most nights. I usually cried myself to sleep, or was too busy on a quest to be able to relax. Again tonight was no different and I ended up crying quietly to myself. Eventually I started to drift off to sleep. "I'm the Champion of Kirkwall. I should not cry myself to sleep... I should be the one who makes others cry themselves to sleep. But I am still human. I suppose it is only normal to have feelings. Why are they so strong though? I feel them gradually get stronger. Every day it becomes harder for me to look at him without being able to tell him my feelings. Oh well...” I quietly muttered to myself. I thought to myself one last time, before completely falling asleep. "Maker, please help me." And with that I shut my eyes, and gave into the long needed rest that beckoned my weakening eyes.
