It had been three years since Anders had last seen her, and one year since the Circles collapsed.
He had left Kirkwall shortly after dealing with Meredith. He and some others had managed to escape on a ship. Though it felt like it was just the three of them. It had felt like Fenris, Hawke and he were the only ones on that ship. When he saw her sleeping, her head resting on the elf's shoulder, it drove him mad. Hawke was a better woman than Anders deserved; he knew that. He had betrayed her trust, and if he had been with her he would only have broken her heart. But Fenris? A mage-hating elf who despised everything for which Anders stood? Everything that Hawke was? Fenris was detestable, and definitely didn't deserve someone as pure as Hawke. Yet for some reason, she loved him, and for Anders, that was more painful than his unrequited love alone.
Anders hadn't stayed in any one place for too long, staying in a town for a few months at most. He had just left a town a week prior and was now skirting northern Ferelden. He had failed to ration his supplies properly, and had run out of food a few days ago. Now he was moving forward on willpower alone. He stepped on a small branch, breaking it in two, but instead of the small snapping of wood, a large sound like the crushing of bones boomed through the forest. You could almost feel it in the air.
He looked towards the sky, where the sound had come from, and saw a tear that glowed green. Not the friendly green of the forest he was walking through, but an eerie green that reminded him of the Fade. It leaked magic that he could feel run into his very core, stirring Justice. The magic materialized, and demons began springing up in the forest. It wasn't long before he found himself surrounded. However, he was weak from lack of sleep and hunger, and even Justice's power wasn't enough. It was only a few minutes before the demons began to overpower him, and he was knocked to the ground, bleeding from his wounds. There was a bright, blinding light, and then silence.
He lay under the shade of a tree, and a figure appeared before him. She stood above him, and the sunlight that poked through the leaves of the tree haloed her. Her red hair blew in the wind, and her light blue, almost-white eyes stared at him calmly.
"Anders?"
He smiled at his angel. If anyone were to lead Anders to the afterlife, he was glad it was her: the woman he loved.
"Anders, I am here."
He closed his eyes, happy that he had gotten to see her one last time.
His nose twitched when he felt a fur tail brush up against him.
Ser Pounce-A-Lot?
He opened his eyes and saw that there was indeed a cat walking alongside the bed he was laying on, but alas, it was not his cat. Instead it was a black cat with white mittens for paws.
It was then that he actually registered that he was lying on a small bed instead of on the hard, forest ground. He was in a small hut that probably couldn't even fit in another bed, and after giving it another take he noticed a woman sitting at a desk, writing something. It was her. His angel. The same wavy, red hair, olive skin and small physique. Only now it was just the two of them (well, unless you counted the cat, that is). No detestable elf to keep them apart, and Anders felt a warmth in his heart that he hadn't in years. It was as if everything in the world was as it should be. He never thought he would feel this way again. He sat up from the bed, and the sound of his movement caught her attention. She looked at him with those whitish-blue eyes that had always captivated him and made his heart squeeze.
"Anders? You're awake."
His smile vanished. This voice was one he didn't recognize. It wasn't the one that he had longed to hear ever since they had parted ways, and when he got a better look at the person in front of him he realized it wasn't the woman he had dreamt of every night for the past three years.
"You're not…" His voice trailed off. "Who are you?"
"Ah, so I was right. It is you. I guess it's understandable that you wouldn't recognize me after all this time."
But he had recognized her, though as someone else. Someone far from his reach.
"My name is Solona."
A/N: There are a few things that have always interested me: Hawke and Amell being second cousins, the potential for Anders and Amell's relationship, and the fact that Anders is in love with a friendly Hawke, even if they romance someone else (the love triangle between Hawke, Fenris and Anders gives me life because I'm total shipping trash).
As I'm interested in these three points, I've had this scenario stuck in my head as of late, and I wanted to get it out of my system by writing it down. It didn't end up quite how I wanted it to (mainly that I wanted to put in the cat's name, but I couldn't find an appropriate place for it). Regardless, I figured I might as well share it anyway.
This isn't really meant to be a full story, hence the lack of conclusion. It's kind of like the first chapter of a story that leaves off on a bit of a cliffhanger, and what comes next is left up to your imagination. I might add more depending on feedback, but I'll probably just leave it as it is and mark it as complete for now.