A/N:
Sorry for the long wait. It's been a crazy week. Back to your normally scheduled fic!
"So then I tell him he's a hypocrite, and asked him how would he feel if Malcolm turned out to be a mage and he was taken from him and Hawke?" Anders slumped down on the finely appointed sofa in Marian's sitting room. "It couldn't have gone worse. Why did I think I could do this?" He had just returned from the Gallows and his meeting with Cullen, Knight-Captain Agatha and First Enchanter Marylyn. He had gone all out and dressed in a new set of robes for the occasion. He had even shaved, and made sure not a hint of his normal stubble shadowed his jaw.
Bringing a bag full of scrolls and parchment outlining his plans, and wearing the guise of respectability, he had arrived at the gates an hour before the meeting. He had wanted to be taken seriously, and Varric's many remarks about his rebel mage persona had finally sunk in. He had bought the robes in Amarathine before they had set sail. It had taken him two hours to choose what he finally bought, and driven Fenris insane in the process. They were a neutral shade of green and the material was soft, but not so expensive that it looked like he was being ostentatious. Aedan had drummed it in his head that he was not to appear as a warden during these meetings. It was mage business and nothing else. He had felt self-conscious as he dressed this morning, and Fenris had to tell him a dozen times over that he looked fine.
But you could take the mage out of the rebel, but not the rebel out of the mage.
It hadn't been long into the meeting before Anders found himself spouting off things that usually could be found in the manifestos he use to write. He had proselytized on the plight of mages and how they were nothing but Chantry approved slaves. The more passionate he became, the harder Cullen's eyes had turned. Eventually they were shouting at each other with the Knight-Captain between them.
Quite frankly, Anders was surprised Cullen hadn't just thrown him in a cell and been done with it. The things Anders had said were seditious, and it showed him that he would have to learn how to temper his emotions if he had any hope of convincing anyone else of his proposals.
"It wasn't that bad, Anders." Marian slipped an arm around his shoulder and gave him a hug. "Cullen is going to try and let a few of the mages see their families for a trial period. So you accomplished something at least."
Anders leaned his head against her shoulder and smiled. "Yeah, that is something. I was just hoping for more."
"You said you knew of him when you were in the Ferelden circle," Fenris pointed out. "You also mentioned that he was known for holding to the rules." He was seated across from them and had Malcolm in his arms. The baby was currently occupied with trying to reach for Fenris' ears. The elf looked uncomfortable, and he held the baby as if he was afraid the child might suddenly explode. Granted, there was a chance he might,-either verbally or by other more disgusting means-but he wasn't one of Varric's bombs. It hadn't escaped Anders' notice-while he was bemoaning the failure of his meeting with Cullen-that Fenris hadn't asked to have someone else take Malcolm, instead he kept him in his lap, his head arched out of the way of grasping fingers.
"I knew of him, yeah. But I just thought that he might have changed. I thought the Gallows would be the easy one." And he had thought wrong. Cullen was a templar, through and through. He took his duty seriously, never mind about his relationship to Hawke.
"Don't look at me," Marian said, correctly reading what Anders had assumed. "If we fight about anything it's circle policy. It was awful when Merrill was taken. Cullen has her watched constantly. The only reason he hasn't killed her or made her Tranquil is for my sake. He hates that there is a blood mage he knows about in a circle he has command over. I made her promise to stop, and told her how serious this was. It's only her word and what he feels for me that have stayed his hand. If she breaks it, then there is nothing I can do."
Anders felt a headache coming on, and rubbed at his temples. He let a small healing spell drift out with a sigh, and the pressure in his head eased. A strangled sound came from Fenris, and he looked up to see the elf glaring at him over the baby's head. Fenris had accused Anders in the past of purposefully using magic for no good reason other than to get a reaction from his lover. Anders' magic did something to Fenris' brands. The elf had once described it as feeling like Anders' fingers were stroking down his skin, followed immediately by his tongue. So yes, it was true he had used that to his advantage once or twice—or five delicious times—but if he had a headache, he wasn't going to suffer through it.
"I should just break her out and solve both of your problems. No Merrill in the Gallows, no worry," Anders said absently.
"No!" Marian and Fenris spoke at the same time, but Anders couldn't help but notice that Marian's voice lacked the vehemence that Fenris' had. It was as if she was only saying it because she thought that she should, not because she meant it.
"May I point out what a colossal mistake it would be if you did such a thing?" Fenris finally set Malcolm down on the floor and the baby dutifully crawled on his belly to Marian's feet. "Do you want me to describe in great detail what Aedan would do to you if you helped Merrill to escape? As he is fond of reminding us, we are wardens now. We can't be seen doing such things."
"Then we won't be seen, love. That's a necessity of breaking someone out of a place like the Gallows. You don't get caught." Anders rubbed at his chin, slightly unnerved by the smoothness that met his palm.
"You can't be seriously considering this?" Fenris had crossed his legs and was tapping his foot against his calf. It was like watching a cat, if they started twitching their tails you knew they were warning you to back off.
Anders had the scars from cat scratches to prove that he never took the warnings.
"Why shouldn't we? She's in the Gallows and I know how I can get her out. We can send her to Wynn, she'll treat Merrill a blighted sight better." As the idea took hold, plans started forming in Anders' head. "I would just need a few days to prepare."
"That quickly?" Anders' confidence was infectious to Marian. "It would solve a lot of problems. Cullen won't send her to another circle because," and here she deepened her voice, "I wouldn't be able to keep a watch out for her. I know where she is now." She bent down and picked Malcolm up, giving him a kiss on the top of his head.
Anders laughed. "Oh! You got him perfectly. Do it again, this time say—"
"Enough!" Fenris shot to his feet. "This is no laughing matter. If you get caught, then think of the consequences. I won't allow it."
Anders stood as well. "You won't allow it? Who knows what's going on in there. Sure, Cullen might have gotten rid of a lot of Meredith's lackeys that survived the battle, but that doesn't mean it has changed completely. They'll make her Tranquil, Fenris, mark my words."
"And mark mine, mage," Fenris shot back. "You would waltz back into a situation that might end up in your incarceration-again. You blithely speak of the blood mage being made Tranquil, but you don't give a care for your own safety. I won't allow you to put yourself at such needless risk. I won't stand by again and wonder if you are dead or if you have been made Tranquil."
Anders reared back-stunned. "Fenris…" He reached out for his lover and Fenris knocked his hand away.
"No. I won't go through that again. I had to wait days before I could come and retrieve you the first time. How I felt then I do not want to ever feel again. You will not do this."
"I'll do it." Everyone turned to see Zevran standing in the room, and Anders wondered how long he had been there. Blighted assassin loved sneaking up on people. "Just tell me how to get in and they will never know I was there. I'm not a mage or a warden, so what could they do to me?" He gave a careless shrug.
"Aedan won't like it." Why Anders was trying to talk Zevran out of it, he didn't know. That's not true, he knew precisely why. It just felt wrong to ask someone else to take the risk. And well, there was Aedan's wrath to consider. Anders didn't want to be around the man when he found out—or even in the city.
"Aedan will not know until I am already back." He sauntered over to a sideboard and plucked a grape from a pile of fruit sitting artfully in a bowl. "We will fight about it afterwards, I will say all of the appropriate things to apologize, promise never to do it again,—which we both know to be a lie—and then we will make passionate love. We all win if I go. My way is much better, yes?" He popped the grape in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"This is madness." Fenris threw up his hands. "Leave the woman be. She has brought this on herself with her meddling in things she shouldn't have. Let the templars have her and be done with it."
Anders tapped his chest. "I meddle in things I shouldn't. Every time I teach a class on anatomy I am breaking Chantry law, do you think I should be locked up as well? Our room alone would be enough to get me convicted. Or do you pretend not to see the banned books that strain the bookshelf near our bed?" Anders had already had one argument about the circles today, if Fenris wanted to give him another, he was more than prepared.
"That's different and you know it," Fenris hissed. "You are trying to save lives, and she will eventually take them by consorting with demons."
"No, it's not," Anders insisted. "Not according to the Chantry. I'm just as guilty in the eyes of the Divine as Merrill is. Intent means nothing to them. You know that Merrill would never do anything to hurt another soul. She doesn't have it in her."
"Doesn't she?" Fenris retorted. "How long before she succumbs? Don't be deliberately obtuse, Anders. You're smarter than you let on and I won't have you playing the fool in front of me. One day she will go too far and she will destroy those around her. You know it, I know it, Hawke knows it and the danger is that Merrill doesn't. She is better off where she is. At least in the care of the Templars they can put her down when she becomes dangerous."
Anders was incredulous. "Do you hear yourself? Put her down? She's not a rabid dog Fenris. For Maker's sakes, she gets sidetracked at the Wounded Coast picking flowers."
"When she accepts a demon's proposition, she will have to be put down. What other term would you have me use to make it more palatable for you? Beheaded? Killed? Going into the wondrous arms of the Maker? What, Anders?" Fenris had lost his temper, and he couldn't stop the taunting words coming out of his mouth even if he wanted to. Anders had to see reason. It was all well and good for him to have such passionate beliefs, but not when it was irrational. If Merrill's escape was connected to the wardens in anyway, it could have unforeseen consequences. It would even jeopardize all of Anders' and Wynn's work, and he said as much to Anders.
"You're being stubborn," Anders accused. "You just don't want her freed, admit it."
Fenris spread his hands wide. "Admit it? I am saying it as clear as I can. She should not be freed. She has made her choices in life and there is no redeeming her. To think otherwise is foolish in the extreme and I did not think you foolish."
Anders snorted. "You've called me it often enough."
"Just because you do foolish things does not mean you are an idiot. If you insist on this insanity then I might have to revise that opinion." Fenris and Anders were now an inch apart from each other—Anders staring down his nose at the elf, and Fenris with his head craned back and his eyes in narrow slits.
'Don't give me ultimatums, love. I don't do well with them," Anders said softly.
"Don't become a fool, then. I do not suffer them lightly." Fenris could see Zevran's and Marian's avid gaze in his periphery, Marian with her eyes wide and Zevran with an amused expression on his face. Fenris was glad that the wardens, Oghren and Aedan were not here. Aedan had gone with Oghren to see the three other wardens they had brought with them on the journey at the Hanged Man. The three of them hadn't felt comfortable staying at the keep. It was bad enough he was having this argument, the less people that saw it the better.
"You can be such an asshole sometimes, you know that?" Anders' lips had thinned into a harsh line.
Zevran cleared his throat. "If I may? Since I am the one that will be taking the risks, then shouldn't it be up to me if I do so? Just a question, if you want to finish your foreplay first, then by all means." He popped another grape in his mouth. As he chewed he turned to Marian.
"From Antiva? I commend your chef for the choice, even if the price might have been dear."
Marian looked dazed from Zevran's sudden change in topic. She held Malcolm clutched to her chest, the baby asleep through all the noise, with his mouth open and a small pool of drool spreading on Marian's collar.
"I… I'll pass on your compliments," she said weakly.
"Good!" Zevran clapped his hands. "Then it is settled, no? Just tell me how to get in and I will have her out and on a ship by this evening. I'll need gold for her passage and a letter for Wynn."
Both Anders and Fenris turned towards Zevran. "Are you seriously doing this?" the elf asked.
"Of course. It is a challenge, yes? I have never broken into a circle before. Well," he reiterated, "not in the Free Marches. I will have a story to tell your Varric, and Aedan and I will have angry sex afterwards. Did I not mention he sex part before? That's very important."
Sometimes—often—Fenris couldn't decide if Zevran was serious or not. His words had the ring of truth to them, but who would break into a circle to free a mage for the sex they might have afterwards? Apparently Zevran would, and Fenris would not be able to talk the assassin out of it the way he might have with Anders.
He threw his hands up in defeat and sat back down. He crossed his arms, physically closing himself off from the others and the conversation. A niggling thought in the back of his mind told him he shouldn't let Zevran go alone, but what could he possibly do to help him? The elf had been a Crow and if he wanted to get into the Gallows, he would.
"Bring something with you to counteract poison," he muttered under his breath. "Giant spiders are known to frequent the sewers and tunnels under Kirkwall."
Zevran gave Fenris a wide smile and a short bow. "I thank you, my friend." When he straightened he looked to Anders. "Now, draw me a map, and be as precise as you can be."