A/N: I always thought it was weird that Anders and a Mage Warden did not meet in the Circle. Please R/R!
"She's really not that bad, you know." I looked up at him with confusion. "Wynne. She is just strict, but she is very kind, once you get to know her." I attempted a smile. I really did not want to talk to anyone, especially not this attractive boy that was holding on to my hand. "What is your name? I can't call you Miss Amell." He looked at me with a slight grin that made me feel as though I had no choice but to answer him.
"Marguerite. But call me Maggie, that's what my mother calls me." All the pain this boy made me forget came back immediately. My eyes stung with the tears that were threatening to spill. I wanted to run away from this boy that made me say things I didn't want people to know, but he just squeezed my hand harder. I could not do this. I wished I had not eaten that stew. I ducked into the washroom the boy had just shown me and emptied the contents of my stomach.
I stayed in there for about half an hour, until I was pretty sure the kind boy had left. When I emerged, he was sitting against the wall reading a book. He smiled at me, honey eyes full of compassion and warmth.
"It's nice to meet you, Maggie. You can call me Anders." I don't know how he seemed to know that I did not want to talk about what happened, but he pretended it never happened. Smiling, he grabbed my hand again and continued the tour of my new "home."
"This is the library! I love it here!" and he proceeded to tell me all the different sections of books, spending extra time talking about his favorite sections. For some reason I felt comfortable with him, and I hoped that he would remain my friend.
"I was brought here when I was twelve. Most of the mages here do not understand why I hate living in this tower so much. Unlike most of the people here, I remember my family and how much it hurt to leave."
He seemed so happy. He hates it here? He also knew his family?
"How long have you been here?" I tried to keep the curiosity out of my voice.
He smiled. "Almost three years. It's not all bad here. Just different. Lonely." A small frown appeared on his face. I didn't want to see Anders sad, but I did not know what to say to cheer him up. "Here are the dormitories. Mine is right here. Yours is the next door down." He was leaving already? He smirked. "I'll show you."
He led me to a bunk just inside the door and sat down. "Here is your bed." He bounced on it and I giggled. He looked funny! "You belongings should already be here. I'll go ask Wynne if she knows what happened to them."
I looked down to hide my wet eyes. "I don't have any belongings." I mumbled, uncomfortable. Great, now he thinks I'm a freak. He pulled me down to sit by him. He put both arms around me and I cried, again.
I don't know how long I cried before I fell asleep, but when I awoke, Anders was still with me. I almost cried for the third time in a day, when I noticed how dark it was. I was a little frightened, so I snuggled closer to Anders and tried to fall back asleep.
Once it was light out, Anders woke me up. "It's time for breakfast. After we eat, we can talk to Wynne about getting you some things." He smiled and grabbed my hand, again and led me to the meal hall. On the way there, I was startled by a person with a disturbing look on his face. It was as if he felt nothing. I pulled closer to Anders when I realized the man was walking towards me.
"First Enchanter Irving would like to see you after you eat." He looked at me with lifeless eyes and spoke with the most dreadful monotone voice. He frightened me. As he was walking away, Anders turned to me.
"That's Owain. He's a tranquil."
"A what?"
"Tranquil. Sometimes, The Templars" I shuddered when he said that word, which did not go unnoticed by Anders, "decide that a mage is susceptible to demonic possession, so they remove their connection to The Fade. The result is a Tranquil. They feel nothing. No pain, no fear, no joy. It's terrifying and wrong."
"The Fade?"
"It's where you go where you dream. You'll learn more about it when you begin your classes. Come on, let's get some food."
I followed him, still thinking about Owain and the Tranquil. The thought of them made me shiver. Anders noticed, but didn't say anything.
After eating, Anders showed me to the First Enchanter's office.
"You may return to your dormitory, Anders. I will have Mary show Marguerite back to her room." I looked between Anders and the First Enchanter, panic evident in my eyes. "Do not worry; Mary is a mage, not a Templar." That only took a small amount of fear away.
"It's alright, Maggie. I'll meet you in your dormitory for lunch." Before I could respond, Anders left and I felt alone, again.
"Please, sit. I am called First Enchanter Irving. I must apologize for the manner in which you were brought here. Some of the Templars seem to forget that mages are people, too. I want you to make yourself comfortable, here. It is your new home, and it will be many years before you are allowed to leave. Enchanter Wynne has chosen a good guide for you. I don't know if Anders told you, but he was also brought to The Circle at an older age." I nodded. "He will be a good friend to have. Tomorrow you will begin classes. You will study with the younger apprentices until you learn how to control your magic. Once you do, you may take some of your classes with Anders. Once we learn what your strengths are, you will take more focused classes."
"M-my strengths?"
He smiled at me, and I realized he would have been a good father to me. The thought made me a little sad, but slightly hopeful that I might have something like a family.
"There are four schools of magic: spirit, creation, entropy and primal. You will learn more about them tomorrow when you begin classes." He looked at me with a similar look Anders gave me. There was about a minute of silence before the First Enchanter dismissed me. An elf a few years older than me came to my side. I assumed she was Mary.
"Oh, and Maggie. Please be careful around The Templars. Some of them believe the same as the ones that brought you here." He turned and sat at his desk.
Mary was quiet as she walked me to my dormitory and was eager to leave once we arrived. I wasn't even able to thank her. My day had just begun and all I wanted to do was sleep. I sensed a pattern in the making. I sighed and laid down.
The next day went by in a blur. There was simply too much material. I did not like magic. I missed the daggers that my mother trained me with. She had no magical ability and wanted me to be able to defend myself, if necessary. Not that her training did me any good. I froze when faced with my first real confrontation. I had a feeling The Templars would frown on a mage practicing with weapons, so I decided to craft a pair of daggers out of wood. I would practice my form in the garden when nobody was around. Whenever I was caught, I would say something along the lines of, "I was reading in the library and thought it would be fun!" It would cause the Templar to snort and walk away. It was kind of funny.
As it turned out, I liked magic more than I thought. Once I understood how to control it, it was quite fun. I began thinking about how I could combine it with my "daggers."
Two months had passed since my arrival at The Circle and I was allowed to join Anders in his classes. We had grown closer as friends, spending every spare moment together. I mean, I spent every spare moment with him. It took three weeks to realize why he wanted to spend "alone time" with some of the other apprentices, especially since they never spent time together in front of anyone. I was sulking in my dormitory when my bunkmate, Daniela, asked me what was wrong. I didn't want to answer her, so I tried to play it off like I was just tired. She jumped onto my bed.
"You fucking liar!" I flinched. I still didn't understand the amount of swearing used by the apprentice. I always thought swearing was meant to hurt someone. But she was smiling. "It's about Anders, isn't it?" My face betrayed me. "It is! I knew it! You want to be fucking him, not watching him screw everyone else! Not that I blame you at all. He is quite amazing!" She giggled, and I couldn't figure out why. Of course he was amazing. He was my best friend.
I was extremely confused. "What do you mean?"
"Um, you do know Anders is with Charlene, right now, right?"
I flushed. "He doesn't seem to want to spend time with me…I've never even seen him with her."
"Holy shit! Are you a virgin?" Her eyes were huge and questioning.
My face was on fire. Of course I was a virgin. I was only thirteen and had never had much contact with people my own age.
Her voice lowered lightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to embarrass you. It's just that most people your age have already… well. Um, you do know what sex is, right?"
"O-of course I do," she gave me a stern look, "don't. Not really. My mother never had the chance to talk about it with me. Please don't tell anyone!"
"I won't tell anyone. Well, maybe just Io, but that's just so we can help you." I didn't know what I needed help with, but I accepted. "I guess you'd understand what Anders is doing better if you knew what sex is..."
"He's what? He's having sex with all those people?" then it clicked, "you?"
"Well, yeah. I thought you didn't know what sex is?"
"I know enough."I pouted because I felt like an idiot. How did I not put two and two together? I was intelligent. I was also slightly hurt that Anders did not see me in that way.
"Um, I'll see you later, Maggie. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone but Io your secret." She left the room before I could protest. Because I did not want to cry again, I went out to practice with my "daggers." I had been practicing for nearly an hour when I felt someone watching me. I sighed and prepared to give my "I was reading a book" speech. I turned around to see Anders, and for once I was not happy to see him. I was still mortified about my earlier conversation with Daniela and could not risk it showing on my face.
"What are you doing?" He was smiling. Of course he was smiling.
My face turned crimson. "I was, um, practicing my, um daggers?" why did I say it like a question?
"Where did you learn that?" The curiosity was evident in his eyes.
"My mother wanted me to be able to defend myself, just in case…not that it did any good." Curse you, Anders. Instead of laughing at me, or telling me it was my fault my mother was in prison, or worse, he hugged me tight. It was at that moment I realized I didn't care what he did in his free time. He was my very best friend and I did not want to lose him. I hugged him back. We eventually made it back inside the tower and he led me to my bunk. I caught the wink he gave to my bunkmate and giggled into my hand.
"See you in the morning, Maggie."
I jumped as a face appeared above my bed.
"It's just me, you silly twit!" Why did everyone insist on calling me these names? "So…everything's alright with Anders?" She lowered her voice so only I could hear her. "Did you learn what sex is?" Her wide eyes demanded a reply.
"Why would Anders tell me what sex is? I didn't even want you to know."
"Holy shit. You really did live a sheltered life before you came here." She rolled her eyes and disappeared.