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Tongue Tripping

Title: My Lioness: Tongue Tripping

Author: MelpomeneTears

Game: Dragon Age 2

Characters/Pairing: Bethany Hawke, Sekhmet Hawke, Anders, Varric Tethras

Disclaimer: Violence, Sexually Suggestive, Spoilers

Bethany woke to the sound of Sekhmet crying again. She knew better than to wake her sister up. Her nightmares were something that no one in the family spoke of, Sekhmet became irate and stomped off whenever Bethany had tried. On the far side of the room, their mother was curled up on her side facing the wall in her own small bed.

Dropping her feet to the floor she scratched Tyr behind the ears before standing and stretching. Pulling some clothes from the chest at the foot of her bed she quickly dressed and combed out her hair. In silence, she placed more logs on the fire so she could see to apply her makeup before meeting the world.

Another few logs on the fire in the common room and she was out the door to let Tyr stretch his legs for a bit and take care of nature’s call. The sun was just below the horizon, invisible but a dim light was starting to spread across the sky. Kirkwall was silent, the sounds of daylight not yet started and the sounds of the night having already faded away.

Peaceful was the only way to describe it. In these few hours before day really took hold she could forget she was an apostate, could forget the almost constant fear she lived with. In these hours she didn’t have to be the dutiful daughter or the reasonable sister. She wasn’t the sweet innocent girl that so many chose to see.

In the dim light of pre-dawn, in the place that was neither light nor dark, neither night nor day she felt home. At this hour, the day was full of promise, it could be anything. Sometimes in these hours she thought about her life as a child, before her magic had manifested. When she was small her future had been full of possibility. Every week she had wanted to be something else, everything from a princess to a farmer.

Once they realized she had magic though, there had only been two things she had wanted. She wanted to be normal, grow up and have a normal family in a normal home with normal children. And short of that she wanted to be like her sister, fearless and always laughing. It hadn’t been until after they had been in Kirkwall for several weeks that she realized the hidden price her sister paid for being so fearless, for always having a smile on her face.

She didn’t want to think about her sister this morning though. She didn’t want to think about Anders either. The man was a mage who had a chance not be alone for the rest of his life, had a chance to be with someone who already knew who and what he was and didn’t care and he was throwing it away. Didn’t he realize how lucky he was?

“Idiot” she grumbled. She looked around and saw Tyr loping back towards her. “Come on, let’s get home, boy.” She wanted to get breakfast started; the small things like making meals relaxed her. Making breakfast for her uncle, mother, and sister was likely the closest she would ever get to having a home of her own and a family of her own to take care of.

Sometimes she wondered what was supposed to be so great about avoiding the Circle. Would she feel this lonely in the Circle? Anders hated the Circle but had he really given it a fair chance? He hadn’t had to grow up as the only mage child. He hadn’t had to worry about every spell he had cast for his entire life, wondering if this was the one that caught someone’s attention and led to being taken away or worse. He hadn’t had to worry about making a mistake and exposing his father as a mage. From where she was standing, he seemed to be the lucky one.

She couldn’t understand how much Anders seemed to hate the Circle. Other than the principle of being forced to stay he didn’t give any specifics. Was his zealous disapproval just from Justice? Had Karl been what made him so vehement? Their rebel mage always became a bit cagey when pressed for details about the Circle or his stay there.

Anders was the only Circle mage she knew. Her father had already been out of the Circle for years by time she had been born and he didn’t like to talk about it much. All he really said was that mages in the Circle weren’t treated like people and so he chose to leave.

She pulled open the door and walked quietly inside, Tyr at her heels. Her mother was awake now, her hair combed and loose, her eyes were tired looking. She gave Beth a small smile.

“I tried to be quiet, I didn’t wake you did I?”

Her mother shook her head, “Your sister’s had a bad dream is all.”

Beth looked at the door to the room the three women shared, it was still closed tightly. “Is she awake?”

Her mother rubbed her eyes, “Yes, she’s getting into her armor. She’s planning on bringing your healer friend here for breakfast. Says she wants him well fed before you guys head out to the coast.”

“The coast?” This was the first she had heard about heading out of the city today.

“A message came for her last night; I gave it to her when she woke up. It seems to be another job.” She gave Bethany a shaky smile, “I suppose that means I won’t see you two for a few days.”

“We need the money, Mother.”

“I know, I just worry.” She stood, “I’ll help you with breakfast, unless you think you should go with Sekhmet to fetch the mage?”

“No, she doesn’t need me tagging along. She can take Tyr. So what shall we make?” For once they actually had a few choices. She had relieved her uncle of the shopping duties.

He inevitably bought whatever was the cheapest, usually oats, and then blew what was left at the brothel. He’d been indignant about it. Obviously, he didn’t have enough coin himself to spend at the Blooming Rose.

“Anything but boiled oats.” Her mother quipped and they both laughed.

********

“So you have no idea who the letter was from, but you’re planning on running off to meet them anyway? What if it’s a trap?” Anders was scowling at her again.

Things had started off well enough, he had been all smiles when he opened the door and saw her. “I was hoping to see you today.”

Was it just her or did he seem younger today? “It’s nice to be missed. Or did you just have more washing you needed help with?”

“There’s always more washing, but I wanted to talk to you about some ideas I had for the clinic.” He definitely was in a good mood, he even scratched behind Tyr’s ears briefly.

“I was hoping to tear you away from the clinic for a while.” She thought they could both use a break after the last week. Whatever had been affecting the children of Darktown seemed to have run its course. An entire outbreak quelled by one mage healer. The man really was amazing.

“Back to work then?” He slipped into the small room at the back of the clinic, not bothering to shut the door and pulled out a pair of leather trousers sliding them on easily over the linen pair he had answered the door in.

She moved to lean in the frame and watched him. His hands pulled the leather up his long legs and slid them over his hips. He pulled the laces tight then held them up while he tied a piece of rope around his waist and rolled the top of the trousers over it. “Why not get them fitted?”

He jumped as if not expecting her to be so close. “Oh, they’re fine.” He gave her a small sheepish smile, “They fit me like a glove once.”

“In that case, you should start eating better. Come, I was going to invite you to breakfast anyways.” Her mind tried picturing Anders filling out those leather trousers. He was good looking now, but if the shape of those trousers was any indication the man positively smoldered at his best.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” He looked away from her tugging his boots on.

“Do what?” she shifted her gaze away from him so he wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

“Lick your lips like I’m some tasty treat.” He sounded terse and exasperated.

She almost laughed at that, it made her think all kinds of dirty thoughts. Tasty indeed! “Sorry, and if it makes you feel any better, I was thinking about what you looked like when you filled those trousers out.” She gave him another smile.

“What did you want me for today, Hawke?” His smile was gone, his tone was irritable and things had only gone downhill from there.

He had eventually begrudgingly agreed to breakfast. It had been a long and silent meal. And now, as they headed out of the city Anders was being morose. His good humor from earlier completely gone, and the younger boyish air scrubbed away. Sekhmet rubbed her head and kept walking not bothering to respond. She’d already answered his question twice.

He was angry at her and was trying to pick a fight with her, but she’d had enough fights with him to last a lifetime. As she trudged on she waited for him to push the issue. Instead, blessedly, he fell silent. Maybe he had realized she wasn’t willing to give him the argument he was looking for, at least not today.

As they rounded a bend she felt a knot form in her stomach. Ahead was a man in Templar uniform. Bethany’s footsteps behind her slowed and she actually felt Anders tense up. She stopped and turned around, “Maybe Anders and Beth should wait here till we see what he wants.”

“Is that Thrask?” Bethany squinted and shielded her eyes from the sun. “He has the same red hair, I’m pretty sure that’s Thrask, sis.”

“Thrask or not I think your sister’s right; at least hang back until we make sure it’s not a trap, Sunshine.” Varric’s smile was quick and easy.

Sekhmet was grateful for him; he’d tried so valiantly to engage Anders in conversation on the trip out to the coast. He’d even given her a sympathetic smile when he realized Anders was determined to be miserable and was claiming Sekhmet as his company. Instead, Varric had kept Bethany entertained with stories about Merrill’s recent antics.

“No, it’ll be safer if we stick together. If it’s a trap it’s not a good idea to have Bethany and I on our own especially where Templars are involved.” Anders’ eyes were scanning the hills around them. “I really don’t like that we’re surrounded by these rock faces.” He took a few steps forward then turned back to look at them.

“Hawke, you should take point to keep an eye out for any traps. I’ll go behind her and keep a shield up; I can keep it up around all of us until we determine it’s safe. Varric, keep an eye out for any attacks from the rear.” The air around them shimmered blue as Anders’ shield went up.

Sekhmet turned to Varric with a grin, “Sweet Maker he makes me hot when he starts ordering us about like that.”

Varric chuckled, “Makes all my chest hair stand up.” When Anders scowled at him he just laughed heartily, “We better get to it, our surly mage has spoken.”

“Come on you two, this isn’t really the time for jokes.” Bethany just barely got the sentence out before she started giggling too.

Anders watched them all, his scowl still in place. “Hey, we could get attacked at any moment you three. This isn’t a stroll through a garden.” He sighed and pushed stray wisps of hair off his forehead and a muscle twitched in his jaw.

Sekhmet stopped laughing; she took a deep breath to keep herself from breaking out in laughter again and turned to Varric and Bethany. “Anders is right, we should pull ourselves together.” She’d seen that look on Anders’ face a few times before; it signaled the end of his patience. He was about three breaths away from losing his temper completely and if that happened there was a good chance they’d be dealing with Justice instead of Anders.

It took the other a few more moments to calm down but Anders had already started to relax. As soon as she was sure everyone had gotten themselves together she started up the small incline to where Ser Thrask stood. She didn’t find any traps and they hadn’t been ambushed, so far so good.

Thrask actually looked relieved to see them. “Serrah Hawke, I am glad you made it here. I spoke with Arianni and she told me what you did for the boy Feynriel.”

Anders’ shield was gone now but she could feel his magic humming right below his skin. The smell of icy forest lake surrounded them all like thick fog. He even moved closer to her. Playing protector without Fenris around? That was certainly new. She turned her attention back to Thrask, the man didn’t seem like he was waiting for an attack but she had only met him the once. “Did she?”

“Yes, she did. I was wondering if perhaps you might be willing to show mages a little kindness again.” He took a quick look around them, looking for someone obviously. Had she read him wrong?

“Expecting someone Templar?” She’d gut him if he’d drawn her in just for an ambush.

“Yes, but I’m hoping we can get this sorted before the other Templars get here.” He took a small step towards her and Anders took a step towards him as well.

He towered over the Templar. “Just what are you looking to sort out, Templar.” He uttered the word like a curse.

“There are mages hiding in the caves behind me. They…” He took a small step back when Anders snapped at him.

“We are not killing mages for you.” His power was sparking off his fingertips now; she even thought she saw little sparks in his hair.

“No, I do not want them killed.” Thrask turned to her looking a little lost.

She reached out and took Anders’ hand, wincing at the prickles of energy but she didn’t say a word to him. She needed him to calm down, at least for now. It was a matter of seconds before he let the magic dissipate and a flicker of healing energy caressed her hand before he released it. He didn’t back down from Thrask though.

“What would you like from us?” She didn’t bother trying to hide her distrust.

“Ser Kerras and the other Templars will be here soon. Inside these caves are the mages from the former circle in Starkhaven.” He was rushing now and looking nervously about almost constantly.

“Former Circle?” Circles weren’t just disbanded.

“It was burned down and the Templars there requested that we transport these mages to the Circle in Kirkwall. They escaped while we were transporting them and have holed up in these caves. They tend to kill Templar’s on sight. I was hoping you could convince them to come out peacefully, that it is better to live in the Circle than to die here. If they are still in there when Karras gets here he’ll slaughter them all.” His eyes were soft and she was surprised to see that he really did seem to want to help the mages.

“He’d just kill them? Wouldn’t even bother trying to bring them in?” She thought they were at least supposed to try to get the mages to the Circle safely.

“He’d kill every one of them and Meredith would probably congratulate him on a job well done.” A look of pure disgust contorted his features.

She gave a faint nod, “I don’t want to see these mages murdered. We’ll see if we can talk to them and try to work something out.”

Anders looked at her and gave her a small smile. She appreciated the support for about five seconds before she became annoyed that he had seemed so surprised. She pulled her daggers free and walked into the cave. She just wanted to get in and out of there as quickly as possible. She felt dirty just talking to a Templar.

They’d barely made it through the cave entrance when they encountered the first mage. He attacked on sight using blood magic to animate skeletons that were littering the cave. She tried to get close enough to him to yell over the din and let him know she just wanted to talk, but he attacked her leeching blood from her body straight through her pores.

When she couldn’t seem to get far enough away from him to get out of the spell’s grip she ended up using a throwing knife to kill the man. He fell silently and she slumped on the ground as the sounds of fighting around her died down. Anders jogged over to her, his magic already checking her for injuries.

She waived him off, “I’m fine. Just let me rest a second. Maker forsaken blood mages, that bloody hurt.”

“We can’t send them back to the Circle Hawke. Look how desperate they are to stay out of it.” Anders helped her to her feet.

“Well what are we going to do? They’re clearly dangerous.” Bethany handed her a neckerchief.

She swiped at her face before tugging off her gloves and wiping both them and her hands down. “Let’s see if we can get someone to talk to us first. Then we’ll decide what to do from there.”

“Are you alright?” Varric looked a little ill.

She chuckled, “Yeah, probably looks worse than it is. It stopped hurting as soon as he stopped casting. It’s just really messy.” She tucked the neckerchief into her belt hoping she wouldn’t need it again before they got out of the cave.

“If you see them casting blood magic, steer clear, we can take care of it. There’s no need to get yourself pulled into that spell again. Some blood mages can pull blood from you a whole lot faster. Or do even worse. We need to be careful.” She was sure Anders was trying to be helpful but sounded more like he was scolding her.

She pulled her gloves back on and readied her daggers before moving on. They hadn’t gone very far before they were attacked by more skeletons. As she was cutting them down she caught sight of a figure huddled and shaking further along in the cave. Leaving the others to fight their way to her she jogged ahead to protect the man from the advancing undead.

She needn’t have bothered apparently; they weren’t interested in the figure, which turned out to be a boy a bit younger than Bethany. When the others reached her the boy slowly stood up straight, still shaking a bit as he looked at them. She felt sick when she saw him; he was even younger than she had originally thought.

“Maker’s blessing, I really thought I was going to die here in this…this tomb. Are, are you with the Templars? Please, I really need to go back to the Circle.” He was so damn young.

Anders moved closer to the boy, “Are you sure? We can help you. You don’t need to go back there.”

He shook his head vehemently, looking petrified at the sight of Anders. “No, please I want to go back.”

She looked at Anders and jerked her head a little; he got the hint and backed away from the boy. “It’s alright, Anders is harmless, I promise.” She smiled for him and he finally relaxed a little. “Ser Thrask is outside; you’ll be safe with him.”

“Thank you, thank you very much.” He was ready to bolt.

“Before you go, can tell me about the mages you came with.”

He flashed a nervous glance to Anders again before talking quickly. The mages were following a man named Decimus who was using blood magic to raise the dead. The boy gave them a little more information as well as his own feelings on blood magic before running from the cave like he was being chased by wolves. Sekhmet was ready to head through to the next chamber, but Anders stopped her.

“Hey, what was all that about?” He looked upset and a little hurt.

“What the kid?”

“Yeah, Anders is harmless? Why were you reassuring him about me but no one else? Don’t you trust me?” His eyes were watching her carefully.

She’d never seen him like this, she’d thought he was offended but he looked more hurt now than anything else. Now that he made it clear he only wanted to be friends he suddenly cared what she thought about him? “Anders, I told him you were harmless because he looked like he was terrified of you.”

Instead of reassuring him, he seemed even more upset. “Why? I didn’t do anything to him.”

“Blondie calm down, he was just a kid, nothing to get twisted about.” Varric gave him a puzzled look.

“You calm down Varric, you’re not the one scaring children.” He glared at the dwarf.

Sekhmet couldn’t help it, she chuckled, “I doubt the kid has seen a mage with magic or fire power like yours. Not to mention you’re like ten feet tall, add the scar plus the tattoos and a boy who’s never really seen the world might be a bit intimidated. Personally, I think the kid has terrible taste.” She thought of seriously flirting for a moment, but decided to just go completely over the top see if she could get him to smile maybe. With an exaggerated leer she licked her lips dramatically. “You’re like sex on legs, long sexy legs.”

Anders looked unsure for a moment before he gave just a hint of a smile and a light chuckle. “Thanks, I guess.”

Varric huffed and rolled his eyes with a grin. “And I suppose I’m invisible.”

“Are you kidding me? We both know Anders has about as much body hair as Fenris. You, dear dwarf, are the man of all my chest hair fantasies.” She gave a sigh and bit her lip, “Mmm, thick and luxurious between my fingers, dreamy.”

“Hey, I’m not…” Anders paused and looked at her then shook his head, the small smile still curving those pretty lips, “nevermind, forget it.”

“Now that we’re done establishing that you two are the manliest and sexiest men in Thedas can we move on and help these mages out?” Beth shook her head, but she was smiling.

“And here I thought you were in charge, Hawke.” Varric was wiping Bianca down; he couldn’t stand the idea of her being bloodstained.

“Not at all, I willingly concede to Bethany.” She couldn’t help smiling at the horrified look on Bethany’s face. “No? All well, off we go then.”

Anders kept pace beside her and Varric fell into step behind her with Bethany at his side. The cavern had obviously been host to someone before, there were even wooden structures inside of it including a staircase up to a doorway. About halfway up the steps she felt magic heavy and thick flow over her. It crawled over her skin like dozens of bugs.

She shivered a little at the feeling. She wasn’t used to magic feeling so unpleasant, Bethany’s was like warming yourself in front of a fire and Anders’ was like cool water. Even Merrill’s wasn’t terrible, tainted as it was with her blood magic. This was the second time she’d come across magic that made her skin crawl in Kirkwall.

“They’re up ahead. I think the boy was right, the man is not well.” She sheathed her blades hoping it would put the mage at ease.

“You can tell that already?” Anders was watching her curiously.

“Yeah, he’s not terribly powerful and he’ll be tired. He’s been casting non-stop for a while, that’s why the magic is so thick.” She looked behind her, “Put Bianca away Varric, I don’t want to upset him any further if we can avoid it.

Varric did as she asked, “You really think we can get them out of here without another fight?”

“We have to try.” She only hoped their crazy leader could still be reasoned with.

“One of these days you and I are going to have a long talk about your ability to sense magic.” Anders was still watching her.

She nodded slightly, “Fair enough.” She had no idea what she would tell him though, she had no idea how she managed to sense magic. She stepped through into view of the hiding mages and her hopes at a peaceful solution crumbled to dust.

Disheveled grey hair and wide dark eyes flicked up but seemed too unfocused to really be seeing anything. “I told you they would come. Bastards in metal suits come to drag us back to the Circle.”

Beside him a young woman, purple tattoos on her face looked a little frightened, “No, Decimus, leave them be. They aren’t Templars.”

“It matters not; they have come to take us back. They dare to challenge us, let the dead speak for us.” Droplets of blood swirled around him coalescing into a red mist.

“Wait, we only want to talk.” She might as well have been talking to the dead who were slowly lumbering to their feet, Decimus ignored her.

“We don’t want to hurt you. Please stop this before something terrible happens.” Bethany’s voice rang through the cavern loudly. Decimus and the other clearly heard her but chose to ignore her.

“Dammit.” Sekhmet cursed as she drew her weapons. “Anders hold him so he can’t catch me in that awful spell like the other one did.” She waited a moment to see Decimus’ arms straighten down at his sides and his face contorted in rage. She stalked close to him, ignoring the sounds of Varric and Bethany dealing with the skeletons who had risen at Decimus’ bidding.

“I want to find a way to get you safely out of here. Call off the attack and we can find a solution to this mess.” She looked around at the other mages. “Aren’t you trying to save these mages? Let me help you.”

Decimus snarled, his voice echoing off the cavern walls, “We will kill all who stand against us.”

As he screamed at her another mage came at her already casting, it felt like lightning so she let go of her daggers and dropped to the floor. The poor man ended up hitting Decimus who was still clenching his staff in his hand. Sekhmet grabbed her daggers and rolled towards the mage who was already starting another spell.

“Anders, forget it. Take care of anyone who tries to attack.” As she spoke she slit the mage’s throat stepping neatly to the side and avoiding most of the blood spray.

She turned and started taking out a few skeletons, scanning the fight quickly. Varric had resorted to explosive bolts being that normal bolts barely fazed the skeletons. Bethany was fine but Anders was still holding Decimus as he used his other hand against the skeletons that were springing up all around them.

As she knocked over another skeleton and stomped on its skull crushing it into dust she heard Anders yelp in pain. Another mage had attacked him while he was distracted with Decimus and the skeletons. She heard him growl and then he was momentarily lost in a haze of pale blue fire.

Decimus screamed as he burst into flames quickly followed by a scream from one of the women as the mage who had hit Anders lost his head completely, it was there one moment and the next there was nothing but his neck spouting blood. Sekhmet started making her way over to Anders.

He took out a few more skeletons before backing away from the fight completely. The battle was over by the time she reached him clinging to a post, head hanging and taking deep shuddering breaths, blood covered hand pressed to the wound in his side. Justice was gone but Anders was obviously struggling.

She felt Varric and Bethany move up behind her, she turned to them with a smile, “Hey, go keep an eye on the rest of the mages will you? Make sure they don’t cause anymore trouble?”

Varric nodded and turned away but Bethany lingered for a minute, “Is he alright? Did they hurt him badly?”

“He just needs a minute before he can heal himself. I’m going to see if he needs help, I’ll be over in a minute.” She gestured towards Varric and Bethany joined him. With both of them out of the way she turned back to Anders closing the small distance between them. “Anything I can do?”

“How bad is it? How much did they see?” He didn’t look up at her, his head still hung down, his hair hanging in his face.

“Neither of them saw anything, but I think a few of the other mages caught it. Anders, you were hit, how bad is it?” She moved to try to get a better look at his injury.

“I’m sorry; I don’t know why I lost it like that. Shit, that could have been really bad.” He finally stood up, leaning heavily against the post, his hand still pressed to his wound.

“Don’t apologize, just heal yourself dammit. Can you heal it?” Was he trying to punish himself by not healing?

Anders sighed heavily and his hand glowed sapphire for a few seconds before he moved it away. “There, happy?” He pulled a piece of cloth from his pocket and started wiping his hand clean.

She nodded, “Yes, now are you ready to go talk with these idiots, or do you need a few more minutes?”

“No lecture on controlling myself?” He looked totally confused.

“You…Justice protected you, nothing to lecture you about.” The man really did have an unhealthy obsession with being punished.

“Perhaps we should talk about this later.” He took the leather thong out of his hair pulled it all back and tied it back up, loose strands contained once again.

“Fine, if that will make you happy. Now, let’s see what we can do about these mages.” She walked to where everyone else was waiting for them, suddenly feeling very tired.

The young woman who had spoken to Decimus earlier stepped forward, by passing Sekhmet completely and walked right up to Anders who watched her warily. “You…you killed him.” She closed her eyes, “If only he had listened. So was he right, are you here to take us back?”

Anders shook his head.

“You’re one of us,” she reached for his face but he jerked his head away from her touch. “You wear no mark of the Circle. Yet you fight and kill your own kind.” She was clearly disgusted.

It didn’t faze Anders much. “Your lover attacked us, even after we told him we only wanted to speak to him. He forced our hand. Would you have us simply let ourselves be murdered?”

She stepped away from Anders, “No, of course not. It’s just that without Decimus things will be much more difficult. He gave us the courage to face the Templars. Without him we would be prisoners still.”

She was clearly still speaking to Anders but he didn’t respond and he looked incredibly uncomfortable so Sekhmet decided to take over. “I’m sorry things happened the way they did. I had hoped for a much different outcome. He obviously meant a lot to you, but hopefully we can still try to find a way to work together.”

“Each of us spent our whole lives in the Circle, none of us ever thought to fight back until Decimus. I know you think he went too far but he thought it was the only way to protect us…to protect me. I…we just want our freedom, the same as your friends. We shouldn’t all be punished for what Decimus did.” Her attention was focused solely on Sekhmet now.

Briefly, she thought about telling the woman she was the wrong one to make an emotional appeal too, she’d have more luck trying Bethany. But then she had another idea. She went back over the conversation in her head again. “I want Anders to check you all for injuries. I want to be sure you are all safe and in good health before we make any plans.”

The young woman looked a little surprised, “We’re all fine, we have a healer of our own so there’s no need to trouble yours.”

“All the same I would feel much better if you let Anders check you all out.” She gave the woman a small stiff smile. Hoping her message made it through clearly, “I’m being polite, but it isn’t really a request.”

The woman sighed, obviously her message had been received, “Very well, if you insist. Everyone cooperate, this shouldn’t take long.”

Anders gave Sekhmet a questioning look, she nodded and he checked them each out, healing a few scrapes and sprains along the way. He came back and Sekhmet motioned for him to join her a little away from the others. He followed quickly.

“So, how far along is she?” She figured the woman would probably start showing anytime now.

“How did you know?” There was that adorable little confused look of his again.

“She kept changing her pronouns back and forth, not to mention she keeps touching her stomach. So, how far along?” She was surprised Anders hadn’t realized it himself.

“Nearly four months, and Hawke if she goes back they’ll take the baby away from her. She’ll never see it.” He gave her a soft smile, “I still can’t believe you got that just from listening to her. You really are amazing sometimes.”

She smiled back, “I know.” She returned to the group, “So you have an idea of where to go?”

“We’ll have to leave the Free Marches. There are rumors of places where the Templars are not so vigilant.” She shifted on her feet, “Does that mean you’ll help us?”

“What do you need from us?” She didn’t want to see this woman lose her child.

“The Templar you met on your way into here, you need to kill him. That way we can get out of Kirkwall before the Templars can send more men.” She was very calm now.

Anders shrugged, “He’s not bad for a Templar, but his death would still be better than all of these mages being put to death.”

“Let me try to convince him that you’re dead and to leave first. Anders is right he’s a decent guy for a Templar and I’d rather not kill him if I don’t have too.” Chances were good that if Thrask were killed someone much worse would take his place. And it made her feel a little better to know that there was at least one halfway decent Templar in Kirkwall.

The woman smiled, “Good luck, I have to be honest though. These Templars deserve no mercy, they strike first and think afterwards. Just don’t end up getting killed in the process of trying to convince him.

Sekhmet nodded, “May we all make it out of here alive.”

They headed back the way they came, there were a few skirmishes with the undead, but they were easy enough to dispatch. As they approached the mouth of the cave she heard voices and slowed her steps to listen.

“Are you trying to tell me this boy is all that’s left of the apostates?” A surly voice, belonging to an older man obviously.

“I ran away when they began to use blood magic ser.” That was Alain’s voice, timid and shaky.

“They are not in the caverns ser Karras,” this from Thrask. “I have thoroughly explore…”

She stepped out into the light; she wanted to meet this ser Kerras that valued life so little that he would slaughter a cave full of mages because they had inconvenienced him.

“Who is this?” He was the same height as Thrask, blonde with thick sideburns fanning out from his face at strange angles. His mouth was a thin line and his eyes glittered with violence and anger. Yes, this one was a killer, one who enjoyed it immensely if she were any judge.

She gave him a dazzling smile. “I’m about to be your new best friend.”

He scowled at her, “I neither want nor need any new friends.”

She nodded a bit, “Fine, then I’m the one who’s going to get you a medal for putting down this mage rebellion.”

He relaxed, the first birth pangs of a smile curling his lips, “I’m listening.”

“Good,” she walked towards him, “Listen closely,” another step; she was less than a step from him. “Can you imagine all the accolades such an accomplishment will garner from the Knight Commander?”

The smile broke free and he hummed in his chest, “Mmm.”

She smiled again, “Ah, who the Void am I kidding?” Lightning fast she struck, decapitating him so quickly the smile was still on his face as his head began to fall from his body. “You’ll have to collect your reward from that bitch posthumously.”

“Andraste’s tits, Hawke what did you do?” Anders’ voice was a whisper behind her.

Angry shouts followed by the sound of heavy boots hitting the sand drowned out any response she might have given him. Their shock apparently subsiding, she and her companions were attacked en masse by the other Templars, with the exception of Thrask who was fighting his own comrades. She was glad that she had decided not to kill Thrask.

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing. There was something cathartic about killing Templars. She loved Kirkwall Templars; it was so hot they rarely wore their helmets, making killing them a simple matter of decapitation or slitting their throats. Their armor thudded and clinked as they fell to the ground filling the air with a beautiful, if tinny, music.

Blood soaked from head to toe in the blood of Templars, laughter still escaping now and then she looked around for another Templar and found that the only one left standing was Thrask. The man looked horrified, she wasn’t sure whether it was over her behavior or the idea that he had killed fellow Templars but she tried to calm herself. She succeeded in quieting her laughter but couldn’t quite lose the grin. She was still too exhilarated at watching that pompous bastard’s head fall off, shit eating grin still intact.

“How about you give us a heads up next time you plan on starting a fight against a unit of Templars.” Varric’s good humor had apparently taken a beating in the fight.

“Come on Varric, I thought you of all people could appreciate that, I was improvising.” She clapped him on the back. He grunted but didn’t respond.

Thrask looked like he had aged twenty years in the last ten minutes. “I was hoping to end this without bloodshed, peacefully.”

The young woman from inside the cave suddenly stepped into the light. “Clenched fists do not bring peace, Kirkwall has been tightening its fists, crushing the mages. There is nothing in the future between Kirkwall mages and Templars except war.”

The woman was right; Sekhmet saw it more and more clearly everyday. More and more mages were snapping under the strain. Kirkwall’s Templars were making the city less safe while trying to claim they were protecting the citizens. “What will you do now Thrask? You fought with us against the other Templars. Have you decided it’s time to leave the Order?”

He sighed, “I will stay for now, do what I can. Perhaps, we can avoid this war if we find a way to work together.”

Sekhmet nodded. “And these mages?”

“I’m sad to report that I was only able to save Alain. The mages killed the Templars before disappearing. I needed to bring Alain back to the Circle before I could start a search.” He looked to the young woman and the other mages standing with her. “Good luck to you.”

The woman handed her staff to Sekhmet, “Here, I can’t carry this anymore; it has the mark of Starkhaven on it. It is all we can offer in payment.”

Sekhmet smiled a little, “Thank you for the staff, I wish you luck on your travels.” They watched the mages disappear into the hills. She turned back to Thrask, “Anything we can help with before we leave?”

“Help me lay a false trail for the Templars who come searching for the mages to follow.” He headed down towards the coast.

“Sounds like a plan. Anders, is there anything you can do about their real trail?”

“Yeah, I think we can manage to get a good gust of wind to blow it away.” He headed down the path a little towards where the mages had headed as Sekhmet and the others followed Thrask.

********

Hawke settled down next to Anders on the ground, he looked up at her briefly, she was still blood splattered and looked as tired as he felt. After spending the last several hours trekking all over laying false trails they needed a break before they headed back to Kirkwall. Thrask and Alain had already headed towards the city not wanting to be seen in the company of Hawke and her companions lest someone make a connection. Another reason they were resting on the coast for a bit.

He opened his waterskin and took a long pull, part of him thankful for Hawke’s closeness and part of him worried about what she wanted.

“I’m going to be nosy.” She started casually.

He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, unsure of where this was going. “Alright.” He spoke cautiously.

“Did you know the Hero of Ferelden when you were a Warden?”

He nodded, that was an easy enough question. “Yes, she’s my,” he had been about to say sister-in-law, but for the most part he and Alistair being brothers was still a secret, “was my Commander.”

“What is she like? You hear so many things; it’s hard to know what’s true.” She seemed to genuinely want to know.

He could play along for a while, it wouldn’t hurt to share a little of his life with her. “What do you want to know?”

“Did she really bed Isabela?” She gave him a distasteful look.

He chuckled, he seemed to remember Hawke looking at Isabela with more than just a little interest when they had first met, but he wasn’t going to remind her of that. “And why would she tell me that?”

Hawke shook her head with a rueful smile, “I don’t know I’m just curious. She’s kind of an inspiration to me.”

He couldn’t help smiling or teasing her. “So what, if she slept with Isabela, you will too?”

Hawke laughed, “No, I was just curious. I mean everyone knows about the Bastard Prince, but who’s to say she doesn’t enjoy time with women as well?”

Was she serious? It seemed she was so he answered for her. “Actually, that I can answer for you, but if you meet her, don’t ever tell her I told you. She has been with women, or at least one woman. Before Alistair she had a long relationship with an elven woman.”

Hawke looked surprised, “Is that his name?”

He shook his head, incredulous “Wait, you didn’t know his name?”

She shrugged, “Everyone calls him the Bastard Prince. You were in the Wardens with him right? Is he really as big as they say he is?”

What kind of question was that, why did she care? “Well he isn’t as tall as I am but he has broad shoulders, and he’s the strongest man I’ve ever known. So he’s a fairly large man.” He saw her flush slightly and realized what she was really asking. He was more than a little annoyed and snapped at her. “I wouldn’t know, who is it that you think I am that I would know all these things?”

“What? You told me yourself that you like men. And the stories say he’s a very good looking man.” She shifted away from him slightly.

“Just because I am as attracted to men as I am to women doesn’t mean I try to bed everyone I meet.” Seeing her shying away from him and his temper he relaxed not wanting this to turn into an argument.

He even managed to ignore her when she muttered, “No shit,” under her breath.

“You have to understand that Sareyna and Alistair are utterly devoted to each other. No one with half a brain would try to come between them.” “Not to mention he’s my brother,” he thought to himself then wondered briefly if Zevran was still with them.

She was quiet for a few seconds before she spoke again, “Did you like being a Warden?”

He paused, he had tried not to think about it since leaving, and the question was more complicated than it sounded. “I hated the Deep Roads, there is just nothing good about them. You’re under miles of rock, in a place so old there are cave-ins all the time. They either smell like must and mold or Darkspawn, and honestly, I’m not a fan of either.

No matter how much light you’re carrying, it never seems to be enough, like the Deep Roads eat it or something. Then of course you have your Darkspawn, deep stalkers and giant spiders.” He shook his head, “Just not good.”

“What are deep stalkers?” She asked curiously.

He found his self relaxing more, enjoying their conversation and her curiosity. “Vicious little things, about the size of a dog, they have sharp claws and sharper teeth. They can scrunch up and hide, blending in with the background. With their coloring they look like little rock formations until they attack you. Not to mention they are absolutely disgusting, they hiss and spit at you. Some are poisonous; others just have really thick saliva making it difficult for you to move for a while.” He shuddered involuntarily. They really were disgusting little buggers.

Hawke made a sour face before canting her head to the side a little, “What about outside of the Deep Roads. Surely, you weren’t there all the time.”

“No, we weren’t. I liked helping people.” He nodded a little, he didn’t usually dwell on the Wardens and so hadn’t really thought about the good times he had with them in a while. “It was nice to be able to use my magic to help people for once.” It really had been a freedom he hadn’t experienced before, and he was able to share it with other mages even.

“I learned new spells from other mages who had never been trained in the Circle so their spells were completely different. I was really surprised by the sheer amount of magic that the Circle doesn’t teach.” And he had been, all the books he had pored over while at the Keep had revealed a staggering amount of information the Circle kept from mages, then again maybe they didn’t even know it after so many centuries.

“Why don’t they teach it, is it dangerous?” She was watching him raptly.

“No more dangerous than a firestorm. Perhaps, they just don’t know it, or perhaps the spells they teach had to be approved by the Chantry.” Anders shrugged, annoyed by it either way. “Who knows?” Anders paused for a moment remembering the mornings in the refectory, the feeling after killing a bunch of Darkspawn and evenings sitting around the fire. “You know, it was nice to feel like a part of something, something larger than yourself.

“But don’t romanticize it. There’s also the fact that you are in almost constant danger, you know that no matter what you do, no matter how many Darkspawn you kill, there will still be more once you die. And being a Warden has some unpleasant side effects. So, I guess the answer is yes and no. It was an experience and I’m grateful for it and what it gave me, and maybe that’s enough.”

He noticed that Hawke was staring at him with a strange look and wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what she was thinking. “Then why are you still here, Anders? If Karl was your reason for coming here, then why are you still here? You can help mages anywhere.”

“It’s not that simple.” This could be a bit complicated if she pushed too much, plus they’d already had a similar conversation months ago.

Hawke furrowed her brow, “Why not? You’re an incredibly powerful mage, even without Justice. I would think that they would be happy to have you.”

Anders ground his teeth together, there was no reason to get angry with her, she couldn’t know all the reasons he could never, would never go back to them. “To stop them from looking for me, I let them think I was dead.”

Hawke sighed, “I still think they would be glad to get you back.”

He quirked a brow at her, falling back on deflection, “Trying to get rid of me?”

She narrowed her eyes, “Surely you know better than that, Anders. If I had my way, you would never leave my side, but if I am going to lose you back to the Wardens, I would rather know now.”

He wasn’t quite sure how to feel about her outburst as the emotions slid over him quickly: surprise, happiness, fear so he just shook his head, “I’m not going back, I already told you that.”

“Are you sure?” So full of doubt still.

He didn’t know how to reassure her. “You’re going to have to trust me, Hawke. There is no place for me among the Wardens anymore. And traveling with you still gives me the chance to help people.”

Her smile was brilliant, and he felt a little flutter in his chest. “You help plenty of people in your clinic, Anders.” She leaned against his shoulder, “But I’m glad for your help.” Her voice became a bit quieter, “And your company.”

He was slightly surprised by the contact; it was intimate, but not threatening. And he decided to just enjoy it as the friendly gesture it was; Justice didn’t seem to mind it much. He looked around the camp to see that Varric and Bethany had both dozed off. “I suppose we’re keeping watch.”

Hawke nodded, “Bethany hasn’t been sleeping well. She doesn’t say anything but I know she misses Carver and she worries about mother terribly.” She gave a little chuckle, “I don’t think she realizes how strong our mother really is.”

“She ran off with an apostate, right?” He had been desperate to hear the whole story since he had first learned about Hawke’s father.

Hawke nodded again, “She did, fell in love with him and ran away to be with him. We ran all across Ferelden avoiding the Templars until I was fifteen.”

He had no idea how that was possible, to avoid the Templars in Ferelden all those years, and with children at that. He would have loved to meet Hawke’s father. “What happened when you were fifteen?”

“We settled in Lothering, the Chantry presence there was small and Papa wanted to give Bethany some stability. Being on the run was hard on her,” Hawke shook her head. “She always blamed herself for our constantly running, it’s like she forgot our father was an apostate or something.” She turned to look at him, “You want to hear something funny? I missed it. I found staying in Lothering unbearably boring. I was always in trouble because I was so damn bored.”

Anders furrowed his brow, surprised “You liked running?”

“I liked the excitement that you never knew what each day would bring. It was like air, like breathing to me. I was raised with it. Staying in that tiny town was almost like torture to me, I felt caged,” she paused and looked out over the horizon. “I felt like an animal whose claws had been clipped and whose fangs had been pulled. I was afraid I would lose my instincts, my ability to sense danger.” She snorted, “And in a way I did.” She turned and pulled away from him, no longer touching him.

He missed the small contact immediately, it had been comforting, but it was easy to see she was upset about something. He chewed on his bottom lip, thinking about her description of herself as a wild animal. Sometimes when they fought he could see it in her, a feral snarl and bared teeth as she ripped through their enemies with a speed, a wicked grace that one might find in a predator, a large cat perhaps.

He suppressed a smile; it wasn’t hard to picture her as a cat. Proud and fierce, vicious and agile, she was dangerous in so many ways. He shifted himself away from her a little, his fingers ached to touch her, to soothe away the frown she wore as she stared off into the distance. But he wasn’t sure she would welcome the touch, or if it was a good idea for him to touch her considering how much he wanted to.

“I don’t think you lost anything, when we’re out looking for trouble, you always know that danger is coming before any of the rest of us. And we all know what a terror you are in a fight.” He gave her a rueful smile when she turned back to look at him with sad eyes, their crystalline blue flashing her feelings quickly before they disappeared as rapidly as they had appeared, leaving just a curiosity in their depths. Those quick notes called to him. “You’re so fast, I have a hard time keeping track of you, and sometimes I set up a shield so I can take a moment to look for you, to make sure you’re alright.”

Hawke cocked her head as she looked at him. “It must be hard for you. When I fight, I just let go, let the rush take me over and cut down everything in my path, but you have to stay so controlled. You have to protect yourself and watch us all at the same time; make sure we don’t need to be healed.”

Anders was quiet for a moment; did she not realize what she did on the field during a fight? “Hawke, there’s rarely a time that anything gets close to me or Bethany, you’re always there first killing it.”

Hawke furrowed her brow and blinked a few times. Unexpectedly, she started giggling, “Must be ingrained.” Suddenly, she snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes. “Don’t count on me to save you, Anders. Don’t ever count on me.” Abruptly, she stood up and walked to the tree line, disappearing into the darkness.

Anders stared after her, confused by her sudden shifts. He struggled with the urge to go after her, to make sure she was alright. It was a ridiculous thought, she could take care of herself and someone needed to watch over their dozing companions. It didn’t change the fact that he desperately wanted to follow her and find out exactly what had just happened.

“Leave her be. It’s best to stay away from her when she gets like that.”

The voice startled him, he turned and saw Bethany sitting up, “I thought you were sleeping.”

Bethany shook her head, “Not really, just resting.” She looked over to Varric, “but he’s out.”

“You look tired.” Anders said quietly, her eyes had dark circles and her skin was a touch paler than usual.

Bethany gave him a smile, “She’s right, I haven’t been sleeping.” She looked down at her hands, “I keep thinking about Carver. I mean I’m a mage, why couldn’t I save him?”

Anders hadn’t known Carver and often wondered why the two of them didn’t mention him more. It seemed odd to him that not even his twin spoke of him much. “Maybe it was his time.”

Bethany drew her knees up and wrapped her arms around them, reinforcing the idea of her youth in Anders’ mind. “I’ve been thinking about that for the last few days. He would have hated Kirkwall, all the nobles putting on airs and Fereldens crammed into Darktown.” She shook her head a little, “He’d probably have ended up arrested or…dead.” She took a shaky breath, “And things between him and Sekhmet would only have gotten worse.”

“Was it really that bad between them? It’s hard to imagine, you two get along so well.”

Bethany’s laugh was bitter, “Carver resented Sekhmet, always felt he was in her shadow. He blamed her for…a lot of things and Sekhmet never defended herself when he started throwing accusations at her.”

She went silent and Anders tried to think of something to say, eventually it was her that spoke, “I saw them sparring one day, about a year and a half before we left Lothering to come here. I had followed them because I was bored. He was vicious, screaming at her as he attacked her again and again. She dodged most of his attacks and the more he missed her, the more furious he became.

“Finally, he caught her, he swung his sword and when she went to dodge it he rammed into her with his shoulder. It knocked her clean off her feet. She laid on the ground on her back looking up at him and he put his sword to her throat and the look in his eyes,” she swallowed hard and blinked back tears. “He looked like he was going to kill her. She closed her eyes and spoke, so quiet I almost didn’t hear it.” Bethany took a deep breath and was no longer looking at him, suddenly more interested in studying her boots.

“What did she say, Bethany?” He feared he already had an idea.

He watched as a tear slid down her cheek. “She told him to, ‘Do it.’ And I think she meant it, she looked so worn, so tired, just completely defeated.”

Anders felt a muscle twitch in his jaw, it didn’t fit with the Hawke he knew, but there were those eyes. “She wanted him to kill her?”

Bethany took a deep breath, still studying her boots. “He told her he wouldn’t disappoint mother like she had and then he left. Sekhmet just lay there, staring at the sky. I couldn’t watch her; I left and went back to the house.” She looked up at Anders again, “I didn’t know, she was always laughing, always smiling. When she came home that day she smiled as soon as she came in the door. I…I never said anything to her, I knew she would be upset if she knew I had seen that.”

There was a rustling in the trees behind them and Bethany’s face schooled carefully into a smile of her own. Anders wondered if she knew how much like her sister she was, he turned and watched Hawke walk back into the clearing. Had she heard them talking about her? He supposed they would find out momentarily.

She gave Bethany a smile when she saw her awake. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.”

Hawke walked over to Bethany and touched her forehead briefly, “Are you sure? You look awfully pale.”

“I’m fine, Sekhmet. Let’s wake Varric and get going.”

Hawke shook her head. “We won’t get back to Kirkwall before dark, might as well let him sleep and set up camp.” She turned to Anders, “Do you have a tent with you?”

Anders nodded, he always brought one when they were leaving Kirkwall. It had only taken him two trips out of the city to realize Hawke often found one reason or another not to return to the city right away. He opened his pack and pulled out his tent and started setting it up. It was one of the few things he still had from when he was a Warden and it had become one of his most prized possessions.

It had served him well since he had left the Wardens. There had been many times when he had found himself with no place to stay and a storm on the way. The thick oiled canvas held up remarkably well to even the heaviest rains. His bedroll was just as prized; he wasn’t as young as he used to be.

He sometimes wondered how he had survived all of those escapes from the Circle often left at the mercy of the elements and sleeping in the most uncomfortable of places. The idea of climbing up a tree to spend the night absolutely horrified him now. He laughed softly.

“Something funny?” Hawke was watching him curiously as she set up her own tent.

“I’m just getting old.”

Hawke gave him a questioning look.

“The conditions I used to live in when I escaped the Circle horrify me now. But back then, I loved it, it was exhilarating and I loved feeling the elements and nature all around me. I slept in trees or caves and never thought twice about it. Now, I sleep in a tent on a bedroll and have to stretch and heal myself half the time before I get up.”

She smiled at him, “Remind me not to get old.”

“I’m not that much older than you.” He gave her a mock scowl.

“Are you sure?”

He was reasonably sure, but it was never wise to guess a woman’s age. So he just shook his head and finished setting up his tent before getting rocks to form a makeshift fire pit. Hawke dropped the discussion and helped Bethany with her own tent.

Bethany’s tent was the first thing they had purchased after doing their first paying job together. Apparently, Hawke often thrashed in her sleep and Bethany complained constantly of not being able to sleep and waking up with bruises.

Once finished with the tents and the fire ring Hawke and Anders left Bethany to watch over the miraculously still sleeping Varric so they could find firewood for the night. Much of it passed in silence, suddenly Hawke froze and Anders followed suit. Without a word she set the wood she had been carrying into Anders’ arms.

She gestured for him to stay still as she crept slowly forward. She slipped one of her throwing knives free and stopped moving. Anders scanned the area, trying to see what it was she was seeing. There was nothing there that he could see, but he kept still and silent none the less.

He heard a squawk followed almost immediately by a second one that was cut off as Hawke’s knife disappeared in a flurry of activity. She pushed through some low scrub and bent over to pick something up. As she came back he saw her wipe her knife on her armor and slip it back into her belt. She was holding a bird in her other hand.

“Dinner.” She stated simply.

“I didn’t even see it.”

“Ever do any hunting?” She grabbed some of the wood from Anders tucking it up under her free arm so she could help carry it back to camp.

“No, not really. I mean I did when I had to, but not like you. I used magic, glyphs and what not.”

Hawke nodded, “Thought not, pheasant are good. It’ll feed all of us.” She gave him a small smile, “So if you don’t hunt can you cook?”

“I can,” he gave her a small smile. “After the first time I escaped from the tower and I realized I had no idea what I was doing, I took a class on cooking. It was elective and I was one of only three students that took it.”

He remembered the class fondly, “Senior Enchanter Josephine taught the class, with so few of us, she could dedicate a lot of time to us and we learned a lot. The first thing we learned was how to start a fire without magic. It took us almost a week to figure it out.” He chuckled a little at the memory.

“To graduate from the class you had to prepare a meal for all of the senior enchanters, including dessert. It was sad to me that more mages didn’t want to learn. They know they are in the Circle for the rest of their lives and figure why bother.” He was quiet for a moment, the idea gave him pause. What would mages do if they were freed? Most of them had no skills for survival. He shook his head as if to clear it, that was a thought for another day.

“Good, then dinner’s all you tonight.”

Anders nodded, “I’ll clean the pheasant while you build a spit?”

“Alright.”

“Was it always like this for you before you settled down in Lothering?” He knew he was treading in dangerous water again, but he couldn’t help but wonder what it had been like for her.

“We all worked together, Papa and I would go hunting, Carver and Mother would clean the animal while Bethany foraged for something fresh,” she smiled at the memory, “then Mother and Bethany would do the cooking.”

“Not you?”

Hawke shook her head with a laugh, “I wasn’t interested. I didn’t bother to learn until we settled in Lothering, and even then Mother had to force me. She used to tell me that I needed to learn the ‘softer arts’ if I ever wanted to find a husband. That made me not want to learn all the more.”

“You didn’t want to get married?”

Hawke shrugged, “If it was like they were, they loved each other so much. I remember them before we settled in Lothering. Mother was so different, she was fierce, strong, she was Papa’s equal in every way. She did with words what he did with magic, I can’t even count the times she talked Templars into thinking they had hallucinated something they had seen. And the two of them were so passionate, like they couldn’t live without each other.” Hawke laughed, “Listen to me, I make it sound like a fairy tale.”

She sighed softly. “When we moved to Lothering things changed. She settled into this role, this idea of what she thought a wife should be. She stayed home, cooked, cleaned, did all the baking. Being this ideal of what she thought was a perfect mother and wife took over her life. I wanted nothing to do with that, I still don’t. Not like I have to worry about it much.”

“And why is that? You’re pretty enough.”

Hawke glared at him, “Pretty enough, yes I suppose that’s a lot of it isn’t it? I’m not tall or willowy; I don’t have curves like a lot of other women. My hair is strange, I have tattoos and I like to fight. And I’m not exactly a paragon of chastity or any other womanly virtues.”

Anders scowled; he hadn’t meant to insult her. “I think any man would be lucky to call you his.”

Hawke laughed bitterly, “Except for you.” With that, she strode forward quickly and pushed through the tree line and into their camp.

“Damn you and your big mouth, Anders.” He cursed himself quietly as he followed her.

#my lioness

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