Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age
Forbidden Love
Chapter Ten
Varric watched the beautiful black haired mage sitting in front him as she inwardly argued with herself on whether or not she should trust him with her secrets. Finally, Ashlynne Hawke looked up at her friend with a determined look on her lovely face. The tears were gone, but a look of sadness remained in her deep blue eyes.
"The story I am about to tell you cannot ever leave this room. No one must know about this, not even my family."
"I promise, Hawke." Varric crossed his heart and gave her a dazzling smile.
"It all began four years age. I was just nineteen years old..."
*Flashback*
Cullen Huntington watched as his fellow Templars brought in a newly captured mage. When she lifted her face to examine her new surroundings, Cullen was blown away by her beauty. Her gaze turned in his direction and she started to scowl at him, but she stopped when he smiled brightly at her. When the Knight Commander called the smiling Templar over, Ashlynne Hawke turned her gaze back down to the floor. She did not want to read too much into the Templar's smiling demeanor. Her father had taught her that no Templar was to ever be trusted.
"Ser Cullen, you are in charge of watching over this new mage until we are certain she not going to try to run off. We had a difficult time catching her, so you will have to watch her closely." The Knight Commander imformed the younger Templar.
"Yes, sir. I will make sure she does not get away. Come, mage. We must get your settled into your new quarters." Cullen said harshly to Ashlynne, but for some unknown reason, he regretted the tone of his voice the instant he heard himself use it.
Until the Circle knew the extent of her magic and her control over it, Ashlynne was put into a private rooom where Cullen would stay with her most of the time, just watching her. Ashlynne sank down onto the side of the bed and put her head in her hands as Cullen shut the door with a resounding click. He pulled a chair up in front of the door and settled himself in it, facing Ashlynne.
"There are Circle robes in the wardrobe that you will need to change into, mage." He silently observed her leather pants and plain looking blouse. She was dressed to blend into a crowd. She lifted her head and looked at him with sudden fire in her eyes.
"Do not call me 'mage' again, Templar, or I cannot be held accountable for my actions. I may be stuck here under lock and key, but I have a name and I expect you to use it. Is that understood?" Cullen should have been insulted by her threat to unleash her magic on him, but instead he found he liked the way she looked when she was angry.
"Well, in that case, I will expect the same thing from you. My name is Ser Cullen, just Cullen, if you perfer." Cullen answered her as if not affected by her threat. For a moment, he thought she was going to become more angry at his response, but her features softened somewhatand she smiled ever so slightly.
"Ser Cullen, my name is Ashlynne Hawke. Most people call me Hawke." She replied curtly as she walked over to the wardrobe.
"How did they catch you doing magic?" Cullen questioned as she pulled out a robe. She cast him a guarded look.
"I am not telling you anything that could harm the rest of my family."
"What if I promised that anything you say will only be between us?" Cullen put forth. He heard Ashlynne's humorless laugh come from behind the screen where she was changing.
"The promise of a Templar to a mage! That is a good one, Ser Cullen, but I am not innocent enough to fall for that." Ashlynne replied from behind the screen. She did not see Cullen scowl at her reply.
"How do you know that I am like every other Templar you have ever met?" Ashlynne came out from behind the screen.
"If you must know, I have never officially met a Templar until today. I have spent my while life avoiding them. I only know what my father has ever told me and he informed me never to trust a Templar." Ashlynne said pointedly.
"Well, I can tell you that I have met a mage I could trust, so I guess we are even." Cullen replied.
"If you do not mind, I am going to go to sleep. Your commander thought it best to get an 'untrained' mage, as he called me, to the Circle as soon as humanly possible."
"Of course." Cullen nodded once at her request and just continued to observe her as she slept until he drifted off himself.
Over the next few days, Cullen and Ashlynne began to relax around each other. More than once, Ashlynne found herself wanting to confide in the blond Templar that watched her so carefully. He seemed like he would not run off to his commander with the information about her family if she provided it. He had continued to ask her questions over the past days, but she had given him very little information. They both began to notice another growing tension in the room between them. Ashlynne recongized that she was attracted to this Templar. So finally, one afternoon, she made a decision to get her mind off her growing attraction.
"Ser Cullen, you say I can trust you, correct?" Ashlynne posed the question, breaking the silence. Cullen looked up at her with grwat attention.
"Yes, madam, I did."
" I have come to a decision. You may ask me any questions you like and I will answer them truthfully." Cullen raised an eyebrow at her.
"And in return you wish me to do what?"
'Kiss me' was the first thought that ran through Ashlynne's mind, but she mentally shook it off and looked at him seriously.
"I have my reasons for doing this, but none of them involve any sort of escape plans or the want of any sort of favor in return for the information."
"All right, then. How old are you?"
"19."
"Where is this family you spoke about?" Ashlynne seemed to think about that question for a moment before answering.
"I cannot answer that question truthfully because I currently do not know the answer to it." Cullen raised his eyebrow again, clearly wanting further explantion. Ashlynne sighed and continued. "Besides me, my father and my sister are also mages. As soon as my family would have discovered I am missing, my parents would have packed everything up and moved away as quickly as possible to protect my sister and brother from you."
"So you may never see your family again?" Cullen asked quietly, suddenly feeling awful about keeping her locked up. It was strange, he had never felt that way before about a mage. Sadness filled Ashlynne's eyes for a moment before she quickly masked it.
"I do not what is in my future."
*End Flashback*
Ashlynne wiped at the corners of her eyes as she paused in her story.
"If I had known then what I know now, I would have never gotten involved with him." She said to Varric. "Over the next several weeks, we got to know each other very well. Cullen knows me better than my own mother does, at least he did. One night, he pulled me from my room and lead me down in the base of the tower. There was an older mage priest waiting down there for us. I remember thinking that someone had found out the true nature of our relationship and I had been brought there to be punished. The next instance, Cullen was down on one knee with a simple gold ring in his palm, pleaing with to marry him. The whole marriage ceremony is now a blur because as soon as our lips met to kiss, I was being pushed through a wall into a dark passage. I was alone and thought maybe the whole thing had been a dream, but then Cullen appeared behind me telling me to follow the passage to my freedom. I found my father waiting for me at the other end. Apparently, someone had told him from inside the tower that he would find his daughter at the end of that old mine tunnel on that night. The tunnel runs under the lake that surrounds the Circle tower. My father was about to turn and leave, thinking it was a sick joke when I emerged out of the darkness. He was overjoyed to see me and asked no questions of how I became to be there, safe, sound, and free. I never told him what really had happened and we just let my family think that he has rescued me from the tower himself. It was better that way. I never thought I would see Cullen again."
"And then you saw him that day on the Wounded Coast." Varric confirmed and Ashlynne just nodded. "So what really happened last night? Where were you?" Her face turned pink at the mention of the night before.
"I was here until early this morning with Cullen." She whispered. "We..we were together for the first time last night."
"I understand, Hawke. So, I am assuming that you two have talked about your relationship and where it stands now?" Varric asked.
"We spoke last week and decided to keep our marriage a secret. If word got out that the Knight Captain of Kirkwall is married to a mage, then chaos would ensue. We are going to try to see other as often as possible, but we know that it could be months before we see each other again. We risked meeting last night because he won't be free again until after we return from the expedition."
"What about if any children result from your...union? How are you going to explain that?" Varric asked. Ashlynne smiled for the first time.
"I could always say it is yours." She joked. "But I think Biance would murder me if I did that."
"Seriously, Hawke, how?"
"I don't know, Varric. The likelihood of that happening is very slim."
"But it could happen as the same. You could be pregnant right now for all you know." Varric stated bluntly to get her to listen to him. Ashlynne's face went ashen. "Did you two discuss that possibility at all?"
"Yes, we did and we decided to be very careful in that department because I do not want to raise any children we have alone and them not knowing their father. Cullen would not be able to have any part of his children's lives either."
"Then if you are being so careful, why did you grow pale at the mention of the possibility that you might be with child already?" Varric asked knowingly. Ashlynne blushed deeply, but stuck her chin in the air.
"I am not answering that question, Varric. It is entirely too personal." She stated firmly. Varric chuckled and smiled at the mage.
"I guess only time will tell."
I am very torn on where to go next with this story. Please let me know what you would like to see. Do you want to see a child thrown into the mix at some point or do you want me to continue torturing the lovers in other ways? Please review!