I'm nowhere if I'm here without You~Ashes Remain

All characters that you see in this story all belong to Bioware. The story behind this is based on the event of Leandra Hawke being taken by the blood mage to bring back his dead wife. I hope you enjoy and please leave any comments that you wish to leave. Criticizm is allowed so feel free to comment.

Underneath the cold November sky
I'll wait for You
As the pages of my life roll by
I'll wait for You
I'm so desperate just to see Your face
Meet me in this broken place

The room was dimmed, quiet. Not a single pin drop could be heard throughout the house. The Hawke family had returned from the expedition a few years ago and decided to buy back their mother's childhood home. The carvings in the wall were marked by Leandra herself as to what Hawke could remember her mother telling her.

Everyone was grieving after the death of Hawke's mother. She was the light in everything, everyone. To now never hear her laughter echo through the lightened halls was something that pained Hawke dearly. She had lost her sister Bethany to the Templar's and now to loose her mother... by a Mage was something else entirely.

"I should have watched over you more closely" Hawke spoke to herself as she repeated the phrase more than once to herself.

There was a slight knock of the door when Anders; the healer who lived in Lowtown walked into the room. He looked over to see Hawke looking out of the window which was positioned right in the middle of the left wall. She looked drained, worn out, tired as indicated by the black parts under her eyes and scared. To see his lover like this was breaking his heart already.

Hold me now
I need to feel You
Show me how
to make it new again
There's no one I can run to
And nothing I could ever do
I'm nowhere if I'm here
without You

Anders placed himself beside Hawke on the bed and looked to her. Close up he could see that she was concentrated on the window and what was on the outside of the room.

"Hawke" He whispered to see if that would get her attention a little but nothing came back until a few moments afterwards.

"I should have been there to protect her more. After what happened to Carver and now Bethany was affecting her more than anyone else. I wasn't there to keep her safe like I promised her I would" Her gaze was still fixed on the window and what was happening on the streets below.

"You know it wasn't your fault. What happened was the work of someone who was wicked within. Maybe even at birth he had power that he did not understand but to use it for evil in the world because there was not enough. Mages are entirely different to blood mages" He sighed. There was nothing much he could say as it felt that he was going on towards criticising his own people but what happened to Leandra was something different entirely. He had to be here for Hawke, because he needed her too.

A single tear fell down Hawke's cheek as she slowly dropped her head to Anders chest. She was thankful he was here with her but he didn't have to carry this burden. It was a burden that needed to be avenged by Hawke herself.

Even if You take it all away
I'll wait for You
Even when the light begins to fade
I'll wait for You
I'm so desperate calling out Your name
Meet me in this broken place

The next morning was the funeral. Many had turned up to wish Leandra Hawke their wishes and their prayers. Hawke was thankful to have her friends and Anders with her as she knew that without them she wouldn't have lasted long. Their strength was the thing that she needed most right now. They were there when the horror took place but one person in particular was there for her all the way. Anders.

He was the one who held her hand when Hawke broke the news to Bethany about their mothers passing. He was there to hold her when things were proving too hard to cope with. He was there to close her wounds when she took everything out on herself; he was there when she just needed to hear those three little but strong words 'I love you'.

After the service was over everyone began to make their way back towards their homes while Anders and the others stuck around just in case Hawke had ideas, but thankfully she didn't.

"Guys can you give me a moment. I just want to say goodbye" The others nodded in consent and gave Hawke a quick embrace before moving back towards the main entrance. Anders stood around but behind one of the pillars to wait for Hawke to finish.

"You once told me that you and Father did everything you could to keep us out of trouble. Well it did kind of backfire didn't it?" A small laugh came from her lips. "I know you would be proud of me now after what you said when I held you in my arms but I failed you overall and nothing I can do can fix that now. I don't know what we will do without you and your laughter lighting the whole house. I told Bethany about what happened. Somehow I know that she blames me for what happened to you but we are both hurting so much because we love you too much. Why did it have to be you Mother? Why?"

I'm tired of running

Until now I feel like my life has been a danger to all who have stepped in the middle of it. Now, I know what I need to do to make sure that nothing like what happened to my Mother ever happens to anyone else.

I am the Champion of Kirkwall, and this is my story!