Ashya followed her companions dutifully to the door of the Spoiled Princess. The encounter with the darkspawn on the night they met Ekaterina had frightened any idle thoughts she might have harbored of wanting any kind of privacy. The sight of those creatures had etched itself indelibly into her mind, the memory stark and clear in her mind every time she closed her eyes. Sleep had been hard to come by, even more so than before, and dark circles under her eyes were irrefutable proof of this.
Luckily they’d had no other such encounters again, but it was just a matter of time. They were headed to the Deep Roads after all, which was more or less their breeding ground. The thought caused icy fingers to reach into her chest and squeeze her heart like a vice every time she dwelled on it, dispelled only slightly by the memory of the swift, brutal and merciless end they had come to at her companions’ hands.
Ashya found herself sticking close to her party when the night cloaked the world in its darkness, sitting close to the fire, avoiding the tent she shared with Signy unless the other girl was with her. Even then every little sound from beyond the flimsy material that lay between them and the outside world made her start, her heart beating faster. She couldn’t understand how Signy – a girl much smaller than her, with her large innocent eyes and cute, doll demeanor – seemed barely shaken.
At the door of the Spoiled Princess, an inn she’d heard much of even back at the tower, she paused, turning to look back at the tall structure that dominated the area for miles around. Although she’d spent almost her entire life there, the sight of it from the outside was still awe-inspiring. She was used to wandering its halls and corridors, not the way it looked from the outside, so imposing, so majestic. She felt a pang of homesickness suddenly, and for a brief moment considered simply going back, dropping this mission that she had joined impulsively.
It was only for a brief moment. As soon as the thought flashed through her mind, she straightened, a small frown furrowing her brows, her lips twisting. Really? One sight of darkspawn and she was ready to go back to the captivity she so despised? One taste of the outside world and she was going to go running back to the templars, her tail between her legs? Was she really that cowardly?
Her hand clenched on the rough wood of the doorway, and she moved away from it, turning to glare at the edifice that was Kinloch Hold as if it had challenged her personally. No one had suggested, even tactfully, that she return home, even though most had probably noticed the event had shaken her. Imenry and Quintus most definitely had noticed, and both had made it a point to check that she was fine afterwards, a gesture that she appreciated more than she’d thought she would. And woe betide anyone if they even mentioned it now, because she would be sure to bite their heads off.
Let the darkspawn come! This time she’d be ready for them! The girl tossed her head and flexed her fingers, almost wishing darkspawn would pop out of the grass so she could prove to herself that she was no coward, that she could handle it. For the first time since the darkspawn attack, she stopped looking to see that the sword bearing members of their party were within arm’s reach, and she determinedly strolled closer to the water’s edge, fingers stroking the small dagger she’d tied to her belt. More of a decoration, really, than a weapon – she doubted she could even nick armor with it let alone use it to defend herself, and magic was her weapon of choice anyway – but she felt safer with it there.