Hello! Sorry it's been so long, inspiration has been at a low lately, but I recently beat Dragon Age 2, and I'm flooded with ideas. I'm majorly obsessing over the game at the moment. I love Fenris. x3 Anyways, here's a story, told from Fen's point of view, about his relationship with Hawke. There's a lot of novelization, meaning I simply took dialogue directly from the game, but this is a fanfiction, so I'm going to include a lot of Fenris's thoughts that I imagine he had, and I'm also going to include some scenes and dialogue and such that wasn't in the game. So yeah, for all you Fen lovers out there, enjoy. :3

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age or its characters.

I'm not calling you a liar
Just don't lie to me
I'm not calling you a thief
Just don't steal from me
I'm not calling you a ghost
Just stop haunting me
And I love you so much
I'm gonna let you kill me

-"I'm Not Calling You A Liar" by Florence And The Machine

xxx

Chapter I

I was nothing but a runaway slave from the Tevinter Imperium. I was not supposed to have a happy life, especially not the one I ended up having. Running away changed everything, but I wouldn't have been successful solely from running away. I would've been caught eventually, maybe. Or I would've been on the run forever.

But no, that's not the way things turned out.

Everything turned out better than I could have ever imagined, and all because of one woman, whom I met by mere chance. This woman, the Champion of Kirkwall, taught me more about life and loss than anything before.

"I don't know who you are, friend, but you made a serious mistake coming here."

I heard a voice bellow out nearby. I had made my way through Lowtown that night, killing all the bounty hunters that were trying to recapture me. I had killed all of their men, except for these last two. The captain, and his lieutenant. "Lieutenant! I want everyone in the clearing! Now!" The captain had no idea that I just killed this man, his lieutenant, hidden by the building that I stood behind.

Foolish bounty hunters. They'd never take me.

"Captain…" the lieutenant moaned as he hit the ground. As he did so, I revealed my presence.

"Your men are dead. Your trap has failed," I told the man waiting for me at the bottom of the steps. "I suggest running back to your master while you can." As I spoke and walked down the steps, I noticed the company in front of the man: A human man, wearing a robe and his hair pulled back, a human girl, and an odd little dwarf.

The group was led by a young woman, another human, and a rather beautiful one at that. Her skin was tan, its color illuminated by the moonlight, and her dark brown hair fell in soft curls at her shoulders, with bangs swooped to the side, nearly covering her left eye. Her wild eyes were dark, the irises a brown so dark that it was nearly black. She wielded two daggers, strapped to her at her back, ready for battle. I couldn't help but admire her appearance; she was gorgeous, with the look of an adventurer. She and the group behind her were covered in splatters of blood, and I assumed it was from killing the slavers.

Suddenly, I felt a hand clamp down hard onto my shoulder from behind me. For a moment, I had forgotten that the bounty hunter was even there.

"You're going nowhere, slave!"

Anger coursed through my veins, and I could feel a surge of power coming on. The lyrium tattoos all over my body lit brightly, a marvelous blue color that I'd always hated, and I reached around and killed the man, just by simply stabbing him, with my own arm.

"I am not a slave!" As I pulled back my arm, I felt my fury dissolve, and the tattoos ceased to glow. I turned back to the woman and her company. "I…apologize." I started. I began to pace in front of her. "When I asked for a distraction for the hunters, I never thought that they'd be so…numerous." Once again, her beauty was distracting. I turned away from her, feeling slightly awkward. I didn't know how she would respond, especially after witnessing the power of the lyrium that had infested me.

"Don't worry, we do this sort of thing often."

Her response was…unexpected.

"Impressive," I remarked, my back to her. I then turned around to face her. Maker, this was all just unexpected. But I had to keep calm. "My name is Fenris. These men were Imperial bounty hunters, seeking to recover a magister's lost property…namely, myself." It then occurred to me that this group was sent by Anso. To recover "stolen goods," I'm sure Anso told them. "I could not face them alone; thankfully, Anso chose wisely."

"Everything Anso said was a lie, then," she realized.

"Not everything. Your employer was simply not who you believed." I tried not to make the woman angry. I was grateful for her help, and figured I'd still need her. I definitely didn't want her mad at me.

"That seems like a lot of effort to find one slave."

"It is."

"But you're no ordinary slave," she pointed out. "Does it have something to do with those markings?"

I chuckled. "Yes...I imagine I must look strange to you. I did not receive these markings by choice. Even so, they have served me well. Without them I would still be a slave," I told her.

"If these men really were going to take you back, I'm glad I helped," she spoke sincerely. This was...different.

"Never before in my travels have I met someone who sought anything other than personal gain," I marveled, and paused for a moment. "If I may ask, what was in the chest? The one in the house?"

"It was empty," she replied.

"I suppose it was too much to hope for. Even so, I had to know," I sighed.

"You were expecting something else?" She asked, inquisitive.

"I was, but I shouldn't have," I replied. "It was bait, nothing more."

"You didn't need to lie to get my help."

"That remains to be seen," I retorted, and started to search the man's corpse. I could feel her eyes watching me.

Damn, I thought, as I realized that Danarius was here. "It's as I thought," I spoke aloud. "My former master accompanied them to the city. I know you have questions, but I must confront him before he flees. I will need your help." I did feel a bit guilty for dragging her into this. She must have had no idea that she was going to be helping a slave.

That is, if she even agreed to help. I wondered why she hadn't already tried to kill me and take everything I have, or just walked off.

"You lured me into a trap, and now you want my help?" She was clearly at least a little upset with the deception.

"If Anso had told you to divert an ambush of Tevinter bounty hunters, would you have done it?" I spoke sharply back to her.

"Good point."

I sighed, desperate and frustrated. "If I had known you earlier, I would've asked you myself," I explained. And I would have; she seemed to be incredibly useful to me, if she would comply. "I am not lying to you now. Please help me do this," I pleaded with her.

There was a pause, and she chuckled. "Looks like it's going to be a long night," she smirked.

Again, more surprises. Her help was definitely unexpected, even more so than her stunning appearance was.

"I will find a way to repay you, I swear it. The magister is staying at a mansion in Hightown. Meet me there as soon as you can. We must enter before morning."

xxx

I stood by the door to the mansion, waiting. About an hour had passed, and I doubted she would even come. Figures, I thought. I don't see why a human would bother helping me. She probably didn't see any point in helping me after realizing the job was a deception. I kept my head lowered, my gaze fixed on the ground. Danarius was such a pain in the ass.

Suddenly I heard footsteps, and I looked up. Well there she was, in the company of the human male in the robe and the dwarf, both from before. She had actually wanted to help me after all. She approached me, and I was the one to break the silence.

"No one has left the mansion, but I've heard nothing from within. Danarius may know we're here; I wouldn't put it past him."

"We shouldn't wait any longer then," she replied, with a serious tone in her voice. She seemed to be a rogue who knew to do what was important, and to do it quickly.

"Agreed." And, with that, I walked with her into the mansion.

As we stepped inside, I called out, "Where are you, master?" Venom coated my words. I had waited so long to finally confront him.

We walked a few steps and suddenly we were attacked by demons...shades, from the Fade. We battled them quickly killing them off one by one. This woman was a skilled fighter, I noticed. I also noticed that the human male with her was a mage. I could not let that bother me here though, and so I suppressed my hate, letting my hate for Danarius take over instead. "He summoned spirits to do his dirty work for him," I remarked aloud. "Danarius! Can you hear me? Your pets will not stop us!" I called out, my voice booming throughout the mansion.

We made our way through the mansion, room by room, battling demons as we went. I couldn't help but admire the way that the woman battled. The way she wielded her daggers, the way she would gracefully leap and tumble and flip, the way she would attack so quickly that the speed of her daggers created streaks of silver in the air…the way she fought made combat seem to be an art.

Eventually we reached Danarius's room, and I felt the hatred inside of me growing. This was it. But then when the woman tried to push the door open, it wouldn't budge. "Locked," she spoke. "Maybe I can lockpick it, though," she mumbled, and I felt hopeful. We waited a moment. "Damn," I heard the woman hiss under her breath. She then turned to face me. "I can't."

The dwarf stepped up. "You forget that I can lockpick as well, sweetie," he spoke smoothly, and I watched as he approached the door where she was standing and gently moved her aside. We all waited again as the dwarf attempted, and after a little while I heard him mumble under his breath, and he gave up. "Nope, it's not possible," he shrugged.

"Perhaps there's a key to the room nearby," the woman suggested.

We explored the rest of the mansion, battling even more spirits, when finally one of the spirits we defeated dropped the key. We went back to the locked door, and my heart pounded with anticipation. A cold sweat dripped down my neck. After the woman finally unlocked the door, we pushed it open.

Nothing. No one.

Except for a strong demon that manifested behind us. The woman helping me disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and in less than a second, was behind the creature, and she stabbed it painfully in the back. I approached the creature myself, attacking head on with my sword. The dwarf and the mage stayed back, attacking from a distance. For a moment it felt like it was just she and I battling the demon together. She, with astounding grace and agility, and I, with my strength. It wasn't long before the creature was defeated, and more demons, fortunately weaker demons, attacked us. I wasn't paying great attention, however. I was fighting absentmindedly, nearly subconsciously, thinking of nothing but Danarius and how he wasn't here.

Eventually, we killed all the demons. It was quiet for a moment, and I turned to face the group accompanying me. "Gone," I spoke, as I kept my eyes on the ground. "I had hoped…" I looked up into the woman's eyes...dark like shadows swallowing me whole, and I was drowning in them, as well as in my own defeat. "No," I sighed. "It doesn't matter any longer. I assume Danarius left valuables behind. Take them if you wish. I…" Maker, I was pitiful. "…need some air."

With that, I stormed outside of the mansion, and slammed the door behind me.

I stood outside for a moment, leaning up against the wall of the mansion. I looked up at the starry sky overhead, thinking of my past. I'd find Danarius one day, I knew I would. I would have my revenge, Maker help me.

Not much time had passed before I heard the door open, and realized that the woman and her friends were leaving. I was still angry. I never meant to take it out on them, but I did.

"It never ends," I spoke aloud, not even looking at them, just looking straight ahead. I couldn't look at her face now. "I escaped a land of dark magic, only to have it hunting me at every turn. It is a plague burned into both my flesh and my soul." My past, leaving behind my family and suffering under a master, complying to his every will, hurt more than the markings did. I had been alone all my life, until now, but I would be alone again soon. I'd probably never see this woman again. What made this even worse was that she was accompanied by a mage. "And now I find myself in the company of even more mages." I approached the mage. "I saw you casting spells inside. I should've realized sooner what you really were." I turned to the beautiful woman. "He'll turn on you and strike when you least expect it. It is in his nature." If she were to ever be harmed by a mage…

"Anders has done nothing wrong, and he protected you inside. I think he has proven himself worthy," she spoke, bitterly. Had I angered her, in my attempt to keep her safe?

"I'm not blind. I know magic has its uses. But even the best-intentioned mage can fall prey to temptation. And then, their power is a curse to inflict upon others."

"Considering the curses inflicted upon us, I'd say it's an even trade," The mage, Anders, retorted.

"I imagine I appear ungrateful," I realized, still speaking to the woman, ignoring the mage's comment. "If so, I apologize, for nothing could be further than the truth. I did not find Danarius, but I still owe you a debt. Here is all the coin I have, as Anso promised." I handed her the coin and delayed for a moment, thinking of what to say. I didn't really want to not see her again, and I still felt as if I owed her much more. "Should you…find yourself in need of assistance, I would gladly render it."

"Why is Danarius after you? Surely he wants something more than just a runaway slave." Her curiosity was unsated, I noticed.

"He wants these markings," I explained to her. "It's lyrium, burned into my flesh. Danarius wishes his precious investment returned, even if he must rip it from my corpse."

"That would be such a waste of a perfectly handsome elf," she smirked at me.

My face felt suddenly hot, and I was unsure of what to say. Did I hear her right? I chuckled quietly, and cleared my throat. "The truth is, I know nothing of the ritual that placed these markings on me," I explained. "It was Danarius's choice, one he now regrets."

"Do you think he will keep chasing you?"

"He is too prideful not to. Perhaps one day the hunt will cost him more than he is willing to pay, but I doubt that matters any longer."

"I've seen some of your abilities," she said, and glanced at the lyrium burned into me. "Do they come from those markings?"

"Some. All I know is that, even in the Imperium, warriors such as myself are rare. Perhaps they believe I should feel honored."

"Well, I'm planning an expedition, and I'd be grateful for help from such an honorable warrior," she smiled at me.

"Fair enough," I returned the smile. "Should you ever have need of me, I will be here. If Danarius wishes his mansion back, he is free to return and claim it," I murmured, mostly to myself. I was going to find him one day. "Beyond that, I am at your disposal."

"It is much appreciated," the lady smiled, and was about to walk off, but I remembered that I had yet to learn her name.

"Wait, before you go, what is your name?"

"You can call me Hawke. It was a pleasure helping you, Fenris."

And with that, she and her friends left, and I was alone, for now. I stepped inside of the mansion, and into what was Danarius' room. I sank down into a chair, and replayed the night's events in my head.

Hawke. It was a name that didn't mean much to me then at that moment, but it would be the name that I would, one day, hold most sacred.