Chapter 10
When everyone went back to the Tower they all went back to their own rooms. Max and MJ had plans to hang out and catch up just the two of them. Anders invited Chris to join him and some of the others to play cards that night. Once everyone had gotten cleaned up the two women got settled on the couch with a bottle of wine and Chris headed out.
"Have fun!" MJ said.
"Watch out for Isabela, she cheats!" Max called after him.
"So do I!" Chris called as he walked out the door.
The two women laughed.
"Did you enjoy the reef today?" Max asked.
"Yeah, it was beautiful. It's great to see that you are doing well down here. I miss having you at home though." MJ replied.
"I miss it too. But I do like it here. You guys are just going to have to move down here," Max grinned.
MJ laughed, "I would actually like that but you know we can't."
"Ugh, Excuses, excuses," Max said with a laugh.
"So Max, I gotta ask, what is going on with you and Anders? I don't think I have ever heard you flirt with anyone like that before and I'm pretty sure that you got drool on your shirt when he took his off."
"Could you blame me? I mean come on! Apparently running from Templars is a good workout."
"You're avoiding the question. What's going on?"
*Sigh* "You're right; I try to avoid thinking about it because I know it can't really go anywhere. I mean, we could figure out how to send them all back to their time tomorrow and then he's gone...and I'm alone...again," Max said sadly.
"Listen, you know that Chris has been gone for a lot of the last few years, but just because I know he is leaving doesn't mean that I don't want to get as much out of the time that he is here that I can. I think it's something that you should think about anyway."
After that their conversation took a lighter turn. Max was happy to have her friend there to talk to. She was going to have to think about what MJ had said. Max wasn't sure she could handle it, but she also wasn't sure that she could handle him never knowing how she felt either.
"So, Chris?"
"Yes Isabela?"
"You have known Max for a long time right?"
"Yeah, for about 10 years."
"Leave it Isabela," Anders growled at the pirate.
"Come on Blondie, let Rivaini finish," Varric grinned.
"So Chris, what do you think Anders should do with Max? Varric and I think he should just master her taint already, I mean, he is a Grey Warden, they know all about taints. Oh! or they could play hide the staff, get it staff, cause they're mages," Isabela said chuckling.
"Well Isabela, I have spent a great deal of time away from my wife and our family over the last few years, and I have learned that you have to take advantage of situations when the opportunity, shall we say, arises," Chris replied with a grin.
"Ohh, I like you," Isabela laughed.
Anders couldn't believe Isabela. Well actually he could. She wasn't going to let this go. Varric wouldn't either apparently.
"Come on Blondie, I haven't seen you have this much fun in years. You should see yourself when she's around. It's almost as if Justice is nowhere in there and it's just Anders. It's a welcome change from brooding and blowing up Chantries. Besides I think the Elf was taking it personal, you were muscling in on his broody territory."
"For what it's worth, I haven't seen Max this happy in a long time either. But it could just be the weather, it's warmer here," Chris said with a smile at Anders that said he didn't think that it was the weather.
Max woke up the next day to an e-mail from First Enchanter Mara asking to see her and Anders as soon as possible. Max thought that it was a little odd that Mara wanted to see the both of them, but then she was considered somewhat of an expert on spirits so perhaps the odd thing was that she hadn't asked to meet Anders, and Justice, sooner. Max went through her morning routine and headed out. She told MJ and Chris that she would be back later and headed toward the elevator. When she got to their door she knocked hard.
"Maker's balls woman, you knock like Aveline!" Varric exclaimed as he answered the door.
"Sorry, I just like to make sure that my presence is acknowledged," Max replied with a smile, pushing her hair over her shoulder in an exaggerated motion.
Varric laughed, "Anyone who doesn't acknowledge your presence, madam, is a fool. Chris was great fun last night, he's worse at Diamondback than Daisy but he's good for some laughs."
"Yeah, he's good people. I'm glad you all had fun last night."
"So what can I do for you this lovely morning?"
"I was looking for Anders actually; I got a message this morning from the First Enchanter. She wants to meet with the two of us."
Max thought she saw a grin cross Varric's face when she mentioned Anders but it was gone quickly.
"Just the two of you, what about Daisy?"
"The message just said the two of us. I'm not sure what it's about."
"Well have a seat and chat with me for a while, Blondie is prettying himself up right now. He should be out soon enough. There's only so much you can do to fix the mess the Maker gave him."
Max laughed, "Well Varric, not everyone can be a dashing dwarf with magnificent chest hair like you, then you wouldn't be special."
"Don't kid yourself, I would still be special," Varric grinned.
Max had been listening to Varric tell stories for about ten minutes before Anders came out of the bathroom. He had been in the shower. When he came out he had one towel around his waist and he was using another one to dry his hair. Shit. I would sell my soul to be that towel, either towel really. Max felt her heart start to race as her mind started to think about how his body would feel against hers, his hands moving over her body, over her ass, her breast, in her...
"Shit Blondie, put some clothes on, we have company." Varric said yanking Max from a very dangerous line of thinking.
Anders looked up and smiled when he saw Max. "Hi Max. Umm, I'll be back in a second."
Varric was telling Max about how Aveline 'courted' Donnic when Anders came out of his room. "Did you need something Max? Or did you just want to see me getting out of the shower?" Anders asked with a smirk on his face. God that smirk was almost as bad as when he wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Oh, you thought I was here to see you getting out of the shower. And here I was telling Varric how much I like dashing dwarves," Max said, answering his smirk with a raised eyebrow and a grin.
"Well, I will just leave you alone with Varric and his chest hair," Anders said as he hung his head in mock disappointment.
Varric had watched the exchange with a big grin on his face interjected, "Now Blondie, no need to be sad. I have already explained to Max that she is just too tall for me."
Max laughed, she was a lot of things but at 5'5" tall was not one of them. "Actually Anders I did come here for a reason. The First Enchanter wants to see the two of us as soon as possible."
"Really, why now? She has not asked to meet me before. Is Merrill coming as well?"
"Really. And no, it's just you and me. I don't know why," Max responded.
"Well then, lead the way."
Anders and Max continued to banter back and forth on their elevator ride up. Maker he wanted to just grab her right there in the elevator. Shit, when she was there when he had gotten out of the shower he wanted to grab her and drag her right back into the shower with him. He couldn't help but think that two people could make very good use of a shower together.
When they reached the floor where the First Enchanters Office was Anders looked around curiously. It was obvious that this was where the highest ranking enchanters and Templars had their offices. He followed Max down the hall. She stopped at a desk where a petite woman with short brown hair was sitting, typing quickly.
"Hey Layla, we're here to see the First Enchanter," Max told the woman.
Layla stopped typing and looked at Anders, she looked as if she wanted to say something but she reconsidered and turned back to Max, "She told me to send you both in as soon as you got here."
They walked through the doors into the office and Anders was immediately impressed by the size of it. Books lined the walls on either side of the room and the view was the same as in the library only from higher up. He saw a small woman with short, curly blonde hair. She looked sweet but there was also something there that said she could and would act, and act violently, if necessary.
"Come in, come in. Have a seat. So this is Anders! I have been meaning to meet all of you while you were here but I have been busy trying to coordinate finding the blood mage who brought you all here with the Templars and reaching out to contacts of mine to try to find a way to get you all back where you belong. I hope you have been enjoying your time here. I am curious what you in particular think of how the Circle has changed since your time."
"Thank you First Enchanter. It is a pleasure to finally meet you. I cannot speak for my companions, but I am quite enjoying my stay here. The changes that have taken place within the Circles have made me very happy," Anders replied.
"Excellent, and please call me Mara," she smiled. "We have made some progress recently tracking the blood mage. The Templars think he's holed up in Little Havana. They have it narrowed down to a few blocks. I have had a few promising leads come back through my contacts on rituals that may return everyone to where they belong. They still require some further investigation though."
"Is there any way we could take a look at any of it? Combined with the research we have been doing we may find something there?" Max asked.
They spent about half an hour discussing some of the information that she had and they were able to see some interesting parallels in some of the research they had done here.
"Max, would you mind stepping into the hall for a moment? There is something I would like to discuss with Anders privately," Mara asked, in a way that left no doubt that it wasn't actually a question.
Max hesitated, obviously surprised, "Uh, yes First Enchanter." She rose and headed toward the door. She looked at Anders with a look that was confused, and maybe a little worried.
Once the door was closed the First Enchanter looked Anders in the eye. "I want to talk to you about Justice," she said bluntly.
"What about Justice?" Anders asked warily.
"It is my understanding that the two of you have both changed as a result of you occupying the same body."
"You could say that…." Anders was not sure where this was going.
"What would you say if I told you that there was a way to separate you without harming either of you? Justice would return to the Fade and you would have your mind and body back to yourself."
"What's the catch?"
"Justice has to be willing."
"And?"
"That's the hardest part. First someone must go into the Fade to speak with Justice, to confirm that he is willing to let you go. Then there is a ritual that we can perform that will separate you. It is a complicated ritual, there must be a mage in the Fade to help Justice let go. But I thought that you should be given the option, if you want it."
"How do you know of this? Why didn't Max tell me about this?" Anders asked; his mind was swimming.
"Max doesn't know about it. Most mages only know of ways to separate a spirit from a host that will destroy the spirit. I am somewhat of an expert on spirits and some of the research I have been doing since your arrival has been into the cases where the host and spirit were successfully separated," Mara explained.
Anders sat there stunned. He wasn't sure what to think. He wanted to believe that it was possible but he didn't know if he could. It seemed too good to be true.
Mara's voice pulled Anders from his revelry, "Max has told you how we know that we find away to return you to where you came from, right?"
Anders nodded, "She said it's because there are historical accounts of what happened to all of us after the Fall of the Chantry in Kirkwall."
Mara looked intently into Anders eyes, "Not all of you."
Anders head was spinning, she had thrown a lot of information at him all at once. Then suddenly she stood up and walked toward one of the book shelves. She pulled down a book, and as she did so she continued to talk.
"We have a real shortage of strong healers. Most mages don't see the point anymore, with the advent of modern medicine. It would be nice to have someone around who could teach and inspire others the rekindle the class." She handed the book to Anders and then walked toward the door. "It was very nice meeting you this morning Anders. I hope that you take the things I have said under consideration," she said with a smile.
Anders made his was out of the office. He barely registered the concern on Max's face as he left the office. He walked toward the elevators in a daze; he couldn't believe all of the information she had just dumped on him at once. He was having a hard time registering it all. Suddenly something hit him.
"Anders! What the fuck happened in there?" Max looked scared. She was worried.
Anders looked around, he didn't remember getting on the elevator. "She told me there was a way to separate me and Justice and we would both survive."
"What? You're kidding! How?"
Anders shook his head, "All I really remember is that it involves someone going into the Fade, and Justice has to agree to it."
They were quiet the rest of the elevator ride. As they reached the apartment Anders was staying in he turned to her. "I need some time to think about what she told me."
Max looked startled. "Ok, call me if you need anything."
Anders went inside the apartment. He looked at the book the First Enchanter had given him. The title read 'On Spirit Possessions, A Comprehensive Collection'.