Moonpriestess30: Yeah, just an hour and a half long phone call, the usual. I don't know how long the other one will be, but exciting things are already happening. Dark twisted things.
Chapter 191 – White lies
'Katza?' Anders calls out as he enters the Hawke Estate. 'Are you back yet?'
Orana walks over from where she had been brushing Bubble, 'Ser Anders, Lady Lorias hasn't returned home from her meeting yet. Can I get you some refreshments?' She asks with a slight curtsey. Anders always felt awkward around the young woman and frantically shook his head as he made his excuses to wait in the study. He practically runs from her and nips into the safety of the room with walls lined with books.
He leans against the door and sighs happily now that he was on his own. Browsing the shelves he wondered what Hawke was reading nowadays, he didn't see the man as much as he liked, his own personal agenda conflicted with him too much. Hawke had been very vocal about his views and how they didn't agree with Anders' rather drastic solutions. He had managed to do what he wished while Elthina was at the Keep and like he promised he had come to see Makatza. It had been a good while since he last saw her when they fought the dragon, he had managed to get some useful materials from that outing.
He's reading a book when he hears the front door go and a loud frustrated sigh as whoever entered started to swear. Getting up from his chair he walks into the foyer to see Makatza grumpily taking off her jewellery and circlet. 'Katza,' Anders says gaining her attention.
She spins around and her face lights up, 'Anders!' She says happily as she walks over to give him a hug. 'Oh, you came, I'm so glad, it's been forever since I saw you.'
He noticed the sheen on her skin and her heavy breathing, 'Katza, what's wrong?' He asks softly as he takes her face and looks into her eyes noticing that her pupils took a moment to dilate. 'You don't seem well.'
She clears her throat and steps back shaking her head, 'it's nothing,' Katza said dismissively as he takes her hand and places his fingers on her pulse; it was very high and intense. 'Just that stupid allergic reactiony thing that occasionally happens. It's been pissing me off to be honest.'
He gives her a look, 'we really need to figure out what that is,' he points out. 'This time it's not particularly bad but allergic reactions can kill,' Anders says firmly. 'Talk me through it,' he adds as he asks Orana for some water for her.
'Well, as you know Elthina came to the Office to indulge in some tea and I had Orana make some of her amazing almond cakes,' Katza reveals as he leads her to a chair and makes her sit down. 'We spoke of normal things, she asked about the wedding. She wasn't very satisfied about the answer I gave her. Then Knight Commander Meredith arrived, she must have heard that I was meeting Elthina. She preached on and on for a good half hour until Cullen saved me and asked her to go back to the Gallows.' Anders busied himself with giving her a brief check over, it made him feel a lot less guilty about what he had done at the Chantry while she distracted Elthina.
'Does he know?' Anders asks, wanting to know Fenris' thoughts on this. As much as he hated the man he knew that the elf had Makatza's best interests at heart.
Makatza sighs and sips the water that Orana had brought her, 'thanks, Orana, and no, I haven't told him. I think he's noticed that something is wrong at times but I'm usually able to deflect his thoughts,' she said simply. Anders gives her a look and she goes a little pink, 'not like that, you grumpy, old man,' Katza says poking him on the forehead with her spare hand. 'Though it wouldn't do you any harm to indulge in that side of life,' she teases.
He waves his hand to dismiss that line of enquiry, 'no changing the subject, we're trying to figure what's causing this. Do you think that someone could be trying to poison you?' He says as he tactfully places his hand on her chest and feels for her breathing. It was deep and strained but he couldn't sense anything resting on her lungs.
'No, well, yes probably. There's probably a good ten of the stuffy old windbags that want to put me six feet under,' she laughs derisively. 'I mean, I haven't exactly tried to keep the peace with these people. Only thing that prevents me from thinking that it is them is that this happened out in the square the first time, out of nowhere,' Makatza points out. She felt pretty crap and it was the last thing she needed before the Council Dinner. At least Varric was going to be there. And Fenris, when he eventually came home. 'What the hell do you think it is?'
'Hmm,' Anders says quietly. There was something about her skin and the pallor that reminded him of someone else. He didn't like the idea of it though and he couldn't think of how she would be coming into contact with it. 'Who's coming to the Council Meeting tonight?'
'All the heads of households, guild presidents mostly. Basically everyone who put me into power,' she says dryly. 'It's going to be so much fun,' she mutters as she leans back and closes her eyes. Anders sighs, he's going to actually have a word with Fenris and mention what he thinks might be the cause. He doesn't want to worry Makatza, it seems like she has a lot on her mind and this would stress her out more.
With a nod he stand up, check up over and wears a weak smile. 'Okay, I'm sure you're going to be fine but I want to make you a charcoal solution that I want you to drink. It'll absorb, hopefully, any toxins that you may have ingested. Just in case,' Anders says softly. If it was what he thought it was there wasn't much he could do but it might help ease the sickness a little.
'If you think it'll help,' Makatza says sitting up. 'Ugh, I need to have a wash and get changed into a different dress for this damn dinner,' she mutters as she gets up. Anders says that he'll have Orana bring her the solution to drink as she climbs the stairs. He goes to his bag and mentally swears as he begins to take out a few things. Lyrium poisoning. Specifically, red lyrium poisoning. He was in the middle of mixing her up the concoction when Garrett, Fenris and Varric came through the front door. Hawke greeted him enthusiastically while Fenris merely glared, and Varric teased him about coming out his cave for once.
Hawke disappears into the kitchen with the wolves and Bubble, Varric followed hoping to get access to the cellar and the brandy that Garrett had been hiding from Isabela. Fenris went to go up the stairs when Anders grabbed his arm, making his brands flare up. 'Wait,' Anders says simply. To Fenris' credit he simply looked at him with barely contained disgust. 'We need to talk.'
'I have no reason to speak to you,' he replies bluntly.
Anders narrowed his eyes and gives him a look, 'shut up and come in here, Orana, please, to Katza,' he says as he catches the young elf and gives her a glass of black liquid. Fenris raises a brow as Orana slides past him on the stairs and decides to talk to the Apostate. Anders lead him into the study and leaned against the desk. Fenris walked in and shut the door behind him waiting for Anders to speak. He rubs his eyes and exhales heavily, 'Katza is being poisoned, again.'
'What?!' Fenris snaps as he takes a few steps forward towards the mage. 'By whom? How?'
Anders holds up his hands in both defence and exasperation, 'look, I don't know. Okay? All I know is that it's lyrium. Even that is an educated guess,' he says simply.
'How?' Fenris begins to panic. Was it his lyrium? The potions she on a rare occasion drank? Did he need to leave her? His heart thundered and his fear must have registered on his face as he stared into space, his mind spiralling.
'I think it's that red lyrium,' Anders clarifies. 'I don't think your brands have anything to do with it or you would be ill as well.'
Fenris shook his head and looked at the mage, 'well? How do I stop this? Is she going to be alright-'
'Fenris, please. I'm getting there,' Anders says annoyed, annoyed that the man seemed to genuinely care and it was frustrating to have his perspective changed about him. It was easy to think of the elf as a mindless creature, justifying his hatred towards mages. In the couple of occasions that he had seen him with Katza, it was like he was a different man. The time he saw them slow dancing in the Hanged Man, he held her gently, almost tenderly. As if he knew what a precious treasure he had in his arms, his expression was soft and vulnerable. Makatza held absolutely no fear towards him despite everything she knew and had seen. If Anders really admitted it to himself, he was jealous. She was able to see past everything that made this elf a beast and had clawed the man to the surface from deep within. In brief moments he wondered if she would be able to help him regain his life back, but deep in the back of his mind he knew that it wouldn't be possible. He hadn't lost control, he had gained it and the drive and motivation to do what was right.
Fenris unaware of Anders' internal monologue was pacing the room, he felt anxious. Red lyrium? That was potent ore and viciously dangerous. 'What makes you think it is the red lyrium?' He asks unable to take the silence.
Anders breathes in deeply and begins to explain. The pallor of her skin, the pattern of her breathing and pulse, the reddened eyes and nausea. He had seen them all before in Varric's brother, Bartrand. 'It could be because of her magic,' he says after a while, after thinking about it. 'The way she siphons her mana from around her. The poisoning could be totally unintentional, she simply could be in range of something or someone that has had contact with the damn thing.'
Fenris pauses and realises, 'you have not spoken to her about this,' he states.
'No,' Anders says shaking his head. 'I haven't. The last thing she needs is to be worrying about where she can and can't go in case she falls ill. It won't kill her, even in the long run. Contact with the red lyrium would be different. That could be dangerous,' he said in reply. 'You need to be careful. You're a bodyguard. Protect her,' Anders states.
Fenris clenched his fist and glared at the man, 'what do you think I do every day? I cannot protect her from something I cannot see, or even detect.'
'Try harder,' Anders says bluntly. He stands up straight and dusts himself off, walking past the elf. 'If she touches that lyrium, she will die. It is pure poison to someone like her. It will tear her apart,' he says as he pauses opening the door.
'How do you know?' Fenris spoke quietly, his anger evident by his shaking hands and narrowed eyes.
'Because of what it did to Bartrand. A dwarf, immune to lyrium,' Anders reveals. 'They don't know it, but someone is walking around this city with a bomb. Katza is the trigger,' he says not wanting to think about what he had placed in the Chantry; that was for a different reason. A different ending. 'She will destroy the entirety of this city and most the surrounding areas. You want to keep her safe? You find that idol, you destroy it and you never, ever let her near it.' He leaves with those words and Fenris feels himself drop. He leans against the desk, his mind reeling. It was suddenly a very intense reality that he was in, the fact that Anders was so adamant about what it would do. He rubbed his eyes and cursed heavily under his breath.
Knocked out his spiral by Katza coming into the study, he turned to look at her and noticed the small signs that screamed at her illness. 'Hey! Oh, has Anders gone?' She says looking around. He probably didn't want to make a scene about the whole sickness thing. I won't tell Fenris, I don't want him to worry, she thought. 'Are you okay? You look stressed,' she says as she walks over to him and smiles. The charcoal had helped a fair bit, she simply felt tired and a little worn out.
'Yes, yes, I am well,' he assures as he stands up straight. 'It has just been a long day and I know it will be a long evening,' Fenris admits forcing himself to give her a half smile. He wondered if she was going to tell him about it. 'Are you well?' He asks.
'Oh, the usual,' she says dismissively which confirmed his worries.
'Are you sure?' He said giving her a chance to change her answer as she walks over to hug him. Makatza nods and smiles brightly.
'Totally! Not looking forward to this dinner and meeting but other than that, can't complain,' she grins. Fenris feels his heart drop. He knew that she was trying to protect him and it broke him, she would put herself through this alone to make sure that he was okay. It wasn't fair.
He holds her gently, 'you would tell me, would you not?' Fenris speaks quietly.
Makatza pauses and buries her head into his shoulder before nodding weakly. 'Of course,' she murmurs. 'You know I tell you everything.'
