Chapter twenty Nine - Anders.
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Of all the places Anders thought a woman would lead him; he would have never thought it would be back to the blighted (literally) Deep Roads. His time with the Wardens had proven that he wasn't really into traipsing around darkspawn filled holes with tainted this and tainted that always trying to kill them, at least occasionally it was demonic this and demonic that instead; the Deep Roads certainly didn't lack for variety. Although, he had to admit each time he'd been, the view had always been a little bit better by the sight of a fearless leader slashing away at the darkness and killing the monsters that hid in it.
And that was exactly what Hawke was doing, slaying monster after monster, seemingly never tiring as she continued to press forward through the muggy dark depths. He had to admit, it worried him that he had not seen her eat or sleep properly in over a week now, yet somehow she still had the stamina to carry on; perhaps it was through sheer force of will that she endured, the drive to find the gold, to uplift her family, get them out of poverty.
Even when injured, she still refused to use her magic, and it infuriated him. He admired and respected Hawke deeply because of her virtues and principles. But even Justice could feel the small thrum of her magic, desperate to be unleashed and to explore its potential. Yet she kept it under lock and key, and the only time he had ever heard of her even using it was when she saved her brother and that elf
That stupid moronic arse of a elf.
He looked over to where the elf was walking, stood behind Hawke and her brother with Varric. It set Anders' teeth on edge the way the mongrel looked at her, eyes trying to burn into her, as though he would devour her like the rabid beast that he was. Not that he could really blame him, all men watched Hawke like that – she was intoxicating, impossible to miss or ignore, but it made him feel oddly protective; he just wanted to hold her tight and keep her away from their grasping hands. Not that Justice approved; they had spent many a night arguing about his intentions toward Hawke. In the end it always boiled down to the fact that they needed her; she would no doubt be useful in the long run – especially if she used her Maker sent magic for once - and it wasn't like anything could happen between them anyway, not with Carver around, barely ever leaving Hawke's side.
He glanced sideways at the elf, who had decided to join the two Hawke's in conversation along with Varric and he felt a pang of jealousy.
Since he met her he had been having dreams. Different from those of the Blight, he dreamt of her. Nothing pornographic, Justice did not allow that, but often they would just be sat in a field together, talking and laughing as a fire crackled in front of them, and when that fire burned down, Hawke would flick her wrist and it would start up again.
He cherished those dreams.
But dreams were all they would ever be; he couldn't even get near Hawke with Carver and the mongrel at her side, practically guarding her. Carver he understood; he was just being a protective brother, but the elf? It was almost as if he had decided to leash himself to Hawke, playing the slave quite willingly.
Then he felt them, the tingle at the edge of his mind, the tickling just under his skin. Darkspawn.
He yelled out a warning, rising to his feet with his staff drawn with practiced ease, the others moving quickly to stand with him.
The Darkspawn appeared then, charging forward, snarling and grunting, rushing their group without thought, clearly intent on attacking their group and the expedition workers. Hawke winked at him as she gave him a feral smile, and then she tossed a smoke bomb to the ground and disappeared. He threw down a glyph of repulsion around his and Varric's feet, and then the smoke had cleared enough for him to cast properly. He unleashed a fireball at the archer's at the back of the Darkspawn pack, not bothering to watch as they fell to the ground dead, instead turning his attention to a Hurlock closing in on Hawke as she fought a Genlock; he sent a bolt of electricity at it, and then Fenris was there, cutting the shuddering creature in half before dashing off to aid Hawke.
It was almost impossible to keep track of Hawke and the two warriors, both of them a blur, cutting down foe after foe while Varric and him picked off or slowed targets down for them to finish off. One thing was certain though, Hawke was fearless – no, bloody terrifying- charging in without a care, leaving her brother tailing after her, trying to watch her back; Carver would cut down a foe and turn to check on her only to find her on the other side of the tunnel, and Anders was having a hard time making sure she was safe too, wanting to shield and heal her but never being able to lock onto her.
It was as he was distracted trying to keep track of Hawke that he heard a howl of pain that sounded more like a defiant roar; he turned just as Fenris fell to his knees, a Darkspawn dropping with him as Fenris reached into its chest, fist glowing to rip out its heart. It was only as the Darkspawn hit the ground that Anders saw the sword protruding from the elf's stomach. He winced slightly knowing the dangers a Darkspawn blade could carry, and the look on the elf's face seemed to suggest he realised the danger as well; gone was his usual arrogance, a grimace twisting his sharp features instead.
He wished he could just pretend he hadn't seen him, just carry on with the barriers and the other spells he was casting and let the elf die. Hawke didn't need him in her life; he was just more complications for someone as admirable as her.
"ANDERS, HEAL HIM PLEASE," she shouted over as she ran to where the elf lay, "You better not fucking die, Fenris!" she said as she fell to where the elf lay. Justice agreed with her, pettiness was not something to be debated for another's life.
Would she panic just as much if it was me?
"ANDERS!" she roared to where he had been casting.
He stood glued to the spot for a moment, and then ran to her side.
He would rather face an Archdemon than face her fury right now, and as much as he would like to be that kind of man, he wouldn't let anyone die on his watch.
He ran over to where the elf lay, keeled over with blood pouring through the metal of his armour.
"Hawke, on the count of three you must pull the sword out," he ordered her, and it was odd that she complied without even questioning his actions. She grabbed the hilt with shaking hands, Varric and her brother stood next to her, ready to protect her if it was required. Even though they had befriended the elf, they still took precautions it seemed.
The elf growled at his command to Hawke, snapping his jaws and trying to get away from the only thing that could save him right now. He seemed almost more animal than man as the other two companions held him down as he growled his reluctance. What Hawke saw in him he would never understand.
"1…2..3!"
Fenris howled in agony as the sword was ripped from his flesh, albeit reluctantly Anders summoned the healing light from his fingertips and forced it to meet the elf's skin, it fused the wound together, the skin knitting slowly as if it had never happened. The elf stayed there for a moment, his head on the dirty ground and then after a few deep breaths, stood up. His face was tightly mashed together and Anders knew it still hurt.
"You're lucky that the sword wasn't tainted," Anders said, looking at Fenris as he steeled himself, clearly trying to act like the sword to his gut had hardly fazed him.
"Fenris, here take an elfroot potion," Varric said, his usual wit and charm lost from the situation.
The elf grabbed the potion and murmured his thanks, and Anders noticed Hawke watching him intensely.
"Come, sit and drink your potion, and then a drink will do you good," Hawke said, beckoning him to follow her.
And of course, like everyone else in Hawke's group, he followed her without a single hesitation.
"The elf will corrupt her even more than she already is, he will spread his taint and whatever potential your object of admiration has, will be gone," Justice's words boomed true in his inner mind. They thought as one.
He looked miserably at the elf and Hawke as they sat beside one another speaking about something as she persuaded him to drink his entire potion, smiling at him when he had finished and if it weren't for the darkness that surrounded them Anders would have sworn that he saw the elf smile.
Anders would not let Fenris corrupt her; she deserved a better man than Fenris. . Anders was not the best man in the world, but he would let her become free rather than chain her down with him like the slave would. He heard Hawke snort with amusement from where she was sitting with the elf, and he frowned.
"Someone pissed in your boots, Blondie?" Varric said as he and Carver stopped their own conversation and had obviously been looking at Hawke and Fenris too.
"Thankfully no, I already hate the Deep Roads, that would just make my day worse," Anders sighed, turning to look at the dwarf and the human warrior. Carver was almost beaming at the sight of his older sister paying a man so much attention, Anders knew that Carver liked Fenris, purely because Fenris was not a mage. Carver, who had been surrounded by mages all his life, did not want his sister near her kin, apart from the demon talking blood mage that he had got on as soon as she had arrived to Kirkwall.
He was a hypocrite, to say the least.
"So what's with the face?" Varric asked, curious as ever.
"I don't like how he looks at her," Anders explained quietly, nudging his head towards Hawke.
"I don't like how you look at her, but I don't pull that face every time," Carver interjected, his face frowning in annoyance.
"You would accept your sister courting someone who despises mages?" Anders asked, his eyebrow raised.
"No, I would accept someone who had her best interests at heart, unlike some that are in it because they feel she needs saving because she doesn't run around with robes and a staff. My sister is one of the bravest women I know and if she doesn't want to use it, then she bloody well doesn't have to. I don't know what happened, and I doubt I ever will but if you care about her you wouldn't want her to be so much like you," Carver monolgued, glaring at Anders which caused Hawke to look over at the commotion.
Carver left to go and speak with his sister, leaving him and Varric alone with each other whilst they took a brief respite.
"You know, Blondie, if you want to get in Hawke's pants that bad, you're really doing a shit job of it," Varric said as he sat down and tug a swig out of his water skin.
"I agree with the dwarf," Justice boomed.
Anders secretly agreed with the dwarf, too.
