• I stood in the middle of the circling crowd. Each had a grim face, as If they expected me to lose. How could I lose to such a young general? He had but the experience that I had. It would be an even match. It was then he walked out of his hut, having none of his armor on, he has just a robe and a staff.
    "Do you wish for me to beat you senseless?" I smiled at my inevitable success. He just turned, his face grim.
    "I should ask the same of you." he twirled the staff a few times, getting accustomed to it's weight. "I do not wish to fight you, Alessandra."
    "Well, General Ambres, I do not wish to be turned away from the army. I have to take a chance to make things better." I swung my ring blade off my shoulders and into my hands. "You won't be able to stop me. I have to follow in Father's footsteps." I smiled, my confidence swelling.
    "Your father was a fool." Ambres bluntly stared into my face. "He ran off to fight a stupid war when he had two daughters,a son, and a dying wife. He ran off on his white steed along with your brother. Do you know what happened to them?" Ambres turned his gaze towards the hospital huts. "The people dying in there are better off than they were. They led an assault when the enemy's forces were far superior." He stared back down at me. He was quite taller than I was. I kept deathly quiet until this moment. "You have no idea what you just called upon yourself." I glared at him, swinging my ring blade quickly back and forth, the red spikes shining.
    "Let's get this over with." I said, walking to the far edge of the circle, then facing him. He did the same. One of the soldiers walked to the center and raised his hand.
    "Battle." he backed away quickly.
    I jumped into action, swinging my ring blade above my head and then leaning out to hit Ambres with it, but he swung his staff out, catching the inside of my ring blade, and throwing it out of the circle, along with his staff.
    "I believe I have won." He turned to walk away, but I jumped at him, kicking at his stomach. He quickly turned, grabbed hold of my leg, and dropped me to the ground.
    "As I have said before, I don't want you joining us in the battlefield." He walked back to his hut as Leliana ran out and helped me up.
    "There's always next year, Alessa." She let me lean on her, for my ankle had twisted upon impact to the ground.
    "Take me to his hut." I growled at Leliana, but she just shook her head. "It's over Alessa. You lo-" But by then I was already limping at a painful pace towards his hut. I reached out, pushed the flap out of the way, and passed out, right in the center of his hut.