Author's Note

I will be resubmitting all my chapters for Forever and Always Volume I over the next week and hopefully within two weeks I will have submitted the rest of the chapters. After that I will submit the chapters for Forever and Always Volumes II, III and IV under this one because essentially it is one complete story. I have also started working on Volume V, but I won't be submitting any chapters for that just yet.

For those of you who are interested, I am also working on another story which sort of ties into this one but it is told from Merrill's point of view. The story is called Healing Carver.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, locations and certain plotlines I may use from the Dragon Age game, but I do own the story that I have built around the game.

Read and enjoy.

Forever and Always Volume I by SammyGal123

Chapter 01

Lothering

Marian

I frantically try to stamp out the fire I caused but it is proving to be difficult. The air is thick with smoke and I start choking. It is my own fault for showing off in front of the villagers and I know my father would be furious with me. I quickly draw on my mana and I release a wall of ice to prevent the fire from spreading out. I am in a small field not far from my home. I only wanted to show them a few fireballs and they were not that big, but it quickly went out of control as soon as the wind come up. I start panicking because the fire is closing in on me. I release another wall of ice, but I am not quick enough because my arm starts burning and with the last bit of my strength, I manage to bring the fire under control.I stumble my way to the fence clutching my arm and I plead for help, but the few remaining villagers back away from me. I met their eyes and they were full of contempt and loathing.

"Mages are dangerous and they should not be allowed to live free," an angry villager shouts. "We should report her to the Templars," he continues.

"No, it is an accident. I…I am-"I stammer when everyone parted and my father come striding towards me.

"You were what, Marian?" he asks and I cringe away from him. He is furious with me. His face is contorted with rage and his blue eyes were flashing.

"I…I…," I murmur as I look away from him. I don't know what to say and it doesn't seem to matter that I am injured.
"What do you know about it? I have no friends. No one wants to come near me. Is it my fault I was born a mage?" I ask.

"Mari, no of course not. Be reasonable please?" he replies and I glare at him.

"Why should I be reasonable? Look at my arm, Father," I mutter. I press my hand against the wound and I try to heal it, but it does not work. I am too upset and it is affecting my concentration and my ability to use my magic.

"It is your own fault, but this is unacceptable. What are you trying to do? Are you trying to chase us away from Lothering, our home?" he asks. "And what do you gain from this?" he continues. I refuse to look at him. I am not achieving anything and I know it.I turned sixteen a couple of months ago and since then I had done everything I could possibly think of to make friends, but they did not want to come near me. A few weeks ago, I walked pass a group of teenagers and they were speaking about me. They said they feared me for being a mage and they felt I was dangerous. Since then I had blatantly squandered my gift of magic. Every opportunity I had, I cast spells around them. Today is no different.I craved the company of other teenagers and I am keen on a boy - Aaron. He is about the same age as me. He has a mop of black curly hair, emerald green eyes and he is extremely attractive. He was the one who looked at me a while ago with such hatred.

"What do you care, father?" I ask and I storm pass him.

"Marian, wait," he calls but I ignore. I kick open our gate and I stumble into my home with the tears pouring down my cheeks. My Mother is sitting at the desk staring out the window and I stumble towards her. Bethany and Carver stop what they are doing when they see me and they start crying. My Mother comes towards me. Her grey eyes are full of concern unlike my Father's angry flashing blue eyes.

"Mari, what happened?" she asks. "And your arm... Oh love, what did you do now?" she asks as she helps me sit down. I am aching all over and that is not because of the pain, it is because of the rejection of the village teenagers. She returns with Elfroot salve, a bandage and a basin of water.

"Why did you not heal yourself?" she asks as she starts cleaning my wound.

"I don't have the strength," I reply. I try to swallow the sob that is going to burst forth. She is being so gentle, but it is so sore. "Please stop," I whisper.

"Mari, I have to clean it. Please be patient," she says softly. "What did you do anyway? Your father went running out of the house mumbling something about a fire in the field adjacent to our home," she explains and I avoid her piercing gaze.

"Marian...Did you cause it?" she asks.

"Yes," I reply.

"Why? What has got into you, Marian? You have always being responsible, but since your birthday... Are you finding things difficult at the moment?" she asks.

I start crying again. "I...I don't have friends. No one wants to come near me and I am so lonely. I...I am also keen on Aaron," I explain and bite my lip. That sounded so immature.

"And he takes no notice of you?" she asks.

"He hates me, Mother. He looks at me with such hatred and I cannot stand it," I explain and I give a resigned sigh. I am being immature and I know it.

My father storms into the house."You should not be squandering your gift of magic, Marian. That does not excuse the fire you caused."

"Malcolm, please can you see to her arm?" my Mother asks. My father is an excellent healer. He has helped many injured or sick people in the village. He is a mage like me and he is an apostate - a mage living free of the Circle. According to Chantry Law, all mages are supposed to stay in the Circle Towers across Thedas because most people considered us as dangerous.

"No. She will learn from this. I am not going to heal her. Every time she looks at the scar it will remind her of her inappropriate behaviour," he replies.

I look away from him and I stare out of the window while my mother tends to my wound. I nearly smile when I feel a small hand on my arm.

"Mari, don't cry," Bethany murmurs and I look into her innocent face. She has dark blue eyes unlike me. I inherited my Father's light blue eyes. I tousle her hair and she giggles. Her hair is black and she is growing it. I look around for Carver and when I meet his blue eyes - the same shade as Bethany's - I see something, but what it is, I am not too sure. His hair is as black as his sister's is, but he is taller than she is. Both of them are nine years old and they are growing up so quickly.

I beckon him to come towards me and he reluctantly shuffles his way over. He slips his hand into Bethany's and both of them look up at me. Despite the age difference, I enjoyed spending time with them in the fields. I frequently read to them and I was always there if they awoke crying from some nightmare.

I turn my attention to my Father as he sinks into his chair muttering something about what he could with me. I ignore him and I watch my mother dress my wound. It is stinging like hell, but it is bearable, at least. It is going to leave an ugly scar and I glare at my Father. He could have done something about it, but he is not going to let me off lightly.

"You need to learn, Marian. I will not have you spoiling everything your Mother and I have built over the years in Lothering," he firmly says.

"Is that what you think?" I ask.

"No," he says softly. "But your blatant use of your gift and the way you show off is not doing you any good. You are losing yourself, Mari. You should not allow your magic to rule over you as it is a dangerous path and I don't want to lose you," he replies.

But you don't know how I feel, Father," I murmur.

"On the contrary, I do, but what spurred you to show off like that? Do you know that it could have turned into a blazing fire?" he asks.

"I...I know, but they were small fireballs at first and then the wind come up. You can hardly expect me to control that," I say cheekily and he glares at me. I lower my eyes and to my shame my eyes are burning.

"I honestly hope this has absolutely nothing to do with Aaron. If so, you have a lot of growing up to do. And Mari, I have had enough of your behaviour. You refuse to listen to reason and I have done all I can - I have taught you the importance of magic. I have taught you how to use it responsibly and I have taught you not to squander it for some light-hearted amusement, but you don't listen to me," he says softly. "Above all, you don't know what my motto means: Magic will serve that which is best in me, not that which is most base. Your magic serves you and you allow it to cloud your judgment. You are a sensible young woman, Mari. I don't know where I have gone wrong," he continues.

"And I don't see why I have to listen to this, father," I whisper and I run out of the house, sobbing and I crumple on the steps. I wrap my arms around my legs and I look out over the village.

Lothering is right on the Imperial Highway - the main road that runs through Ferelden, into Orlais and into the Tevinter Imperium. We live in a small three bed-roomed home. The twins - Carver and Bethany share the same room and I have my own room, but it is so small. Sometimes I felt so claustrophobic and that is the main reason I spent my time out in the open fields.

Our living room is very small, but comfortable. I glance over my shoulder and I notice my parents conversing. I look away from them and I sigh. I don't want to know what they are discussing. Our home is also near the Chantry - the Chantry is a place where people can light candles in honor of Andraste and listen to the Chant of Light and pray to the Maker if they wished. I had listened to the Chant many times and it is beautiful.

I notice a group of people coming out of the Chantry and as they come closer, I notice Aaron and my heart beats uncomfortably. He is laughing with some of his friends. He senses I am watching him because he catches my eye and what I see hurts me like nothing else. His face flickers with something and he looks uncertainly at me. He says something to his friends before breaking away from them.

"Stay away from me, Aaron," I say firmly and I run back into the house. I head straight to my room and throw myself onto my bed. Whatever I felt for him fades away. All that is left is an empty space in my heart that no one would be able to fill.