Rose:

It wasn't the first time she had spent the night with her grandfather, but this time it was different, even she could tell. However, the five-year-old elf was excited none the less. She enjoyed spending time with her grandfather despite the fact they see each other on a daily basis.

"Rose, my dear, come change to your nightgown. Your aunt Shianni will have dinner ready in a moment," Cyrion called to the child who had been running around in the garden.  Rose entered the house in an unladylike manner. Her blonde hair in a mess of tangles, her face once again covered in dirt, and her feet bare and muddy. Cyrion chuckled at the little girl as he spread her clothes out on the bed. "Just like your mother. You have her spirit, young Rose."

Rose beamed with pride at the compliment. She knew of her mother's role in the blight and how she united the country together when it was thought impossible. Although she still did not understand it all, she knew her mother was greater than any warrior the king had and that was enough for her.

The child made her way to the bedroom where she cleaned herself and changed. As she reached for the brush to detangle her dirt blonde hair, she overheard Shianni as she spoke Cyrion.

"So how do you think she is doing? With you know who," Shianni asked while stirring the pot.

"I have no worries about my daughter. She is capable of many great things."

"Yes, but this is more than saving the world from the darkspawn! She is talking to Rose's father. What he refuses to accept her?"

Cyrion sighed as he places a hand to his niece's shoulder, "Shianni, if he takes her as his own that would be problematic for his wife and unborn child. Do you not agree?"

"I suppose you are right, but what about Rose? She needs her father, and right now he is just around the corner," she shouted as she slammed the wooden spoon to the counter.

"Shianni! Keep your voice down, child. Rose is in the next room. Were she to hear you, she would bolt out this house for the chance to meet him," the elderly elf scolded as he made his way to clean the table.

Bewildered, the child stepped away from the door. Her small hands were balled up in tiny fists, shaking in response to what she had heard. In her short life she had often dreamed of her father, wondering why he had left them, and what he would look like, but knowing now that he was married and having a child, the elf grew angry. She understood now that she was unwanted by her father. Her mother had always said that whenever she looked upon the tiny Rose she was reminded of him. Whether that meant fond memories or saddened ones she did not know, but it was obvious (even to the child) that her mother missed him, she understood now that it was the latter.

Once again she sat by the mirror, staring at her own reflection. She noted hardly any visible features of her mother. She turned left, she turned right. She pinched her chubby cheeks to give them soft pink coloring like her mother's, but instead it was a deep red. She moved her blonde locks away from her ears to examine them. Even they were more rounded than pointed. The child sighed sadly, feeling she caused her mother pain. That's when the locket she had received made a clanking sound on the floor.

The locket itself was a present from her grandfather, but the rose's pedal within was from her mother.

"A present your father once gave to me," her mother once said, "you remind me so much of him sometimes."

Her mother's words echoed viciously through the young elf's mind. Warm tears fell from her chocolate eyes as she wept. Once again she looked down at the rose. Her fingers gripped the locket as she yanked it off of her neck, breaking the chain's clasp. She threw the object of her misfortune to the wall, causing the glass cover to shatter and the hinges to break. Rose looked back on it, her expression still in anger. When she realized what she had done she ran over to the locket where she carefully scooped it up. She held the object close to her chest, silently praying it would mend itself.

"Hey kid, come on. Your dinner will get cold if you keep it waiting any longer," Shianni teased through the door way.

"I'm not hungry, aunt Shianni. I just want to sleep," the young elf yawned as she crawled into bed.

Shianni eyed the child, looking for a bluff or witty joke she may have been trying to pull off, but when she found none she simply shrugged, "alright if you say so. Your grandfather may have a word with you about this later, but can assure you that it will be nothing compared to what your mom might say."

Rose smiled at her aunt and ran to give her a hug. The two elves embraced one another before she youngest released herself and once again went to bed. Shianni turned the lights off, leaving only the child. Once again she looked at the locket still in her hands. She then looked out the window and was reminded of the stories they told her of her mother. How she would always escape through the open window. From there the child made herself a plan. She pushed the rocking chair against the window with what little strength she had, and proceeded to climbed up it. Soon enough she was dangling her legs off the windows edge. She jumped out with little grace and landed in the bushes. Once outside she looked back at the window. She regretted nothing, and began to run in hopes she was not too late.