Hello Everyone, It's good to see you guys again, or at least hear from you and know you guys are alive as well. Thanks for keeping with me for so long that I've been gone and reviewing.
Disclaimer: I Don't own Dragon Age.
XxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxx
Neria
Neria carefully watched all their faces as Anders walked into the room, pure shock. So Justice had not only somehow mimicked Anders he had stolen his form as well? How did he come to do that persay now? Was that even possible? Well obviously he had done it for seven years, but how? To impersonate someone was sure possible, but to completely take over their form, their life, how was that even remotely something Justice could do?
Had Justice somehow used some type of forbidden magic ritual to make him take Anders form while Anders himself was still alive and not possessed? But the look on Hawke and her companions faces, it was true. Justice had done this somehow. Anders came in and sat at the desk near Neria, his hip touching hers. A comfort gesture to her as well as to himself as he wasn't sure of the situation and he was offering backup and well as an anchor. If only he knew the shit storm about it hit him.
" Sorry I'm late, Oghren was having 'issues' again." Anders said with finger quotes. Which meant he was running naked around the Keep again drunk, talking about sheets, just what they needed.
" Just glad you could make it Anders." Neria offered in turn looking over at him and meeting his soft amber eyes with hers, she was alright, she was giving him a reassuring look, but it wasn't nessiassily truth, there was nothing she could reassure him about this situation at all, except maybe that they would protect him from Justice.
He turned to look at Hawke and her party next to not leave them out. The look of pain that crossed her face was one Anders didn't expect upon being greeted because he frowned and looked startled the next second.
" You… you don't know us at all do you?" Hawke asked. Anders blinked at her stupidly.
" You're the mage that saved Nathaniel. The Champion of Kirkwall." Anders said simply, in reply. Hawke choked on what sounded like a sob then nodded.
" What's going on?" Anders asked puzzled.
" I usually don't walk into a room and get the looks I'm getting right now, I mean not unless I've done something wrong, which I haven't, have I?" Anders asked Neria looking over at her warily.
" Not you specifically. Justice posed as you. He had a replica of you running around Kirkwall with Hawke and her companions for seven years. Inflamed a mage rebellion, blew up the Chantry." Neria said straight faced. You know, no big deal. Not capital crimes or anything. Anders blanched.
" You're joking, right? RIght?" He asked looking from Neria to Hawke. Both shook their heads.
" Well how did Justice pull that off? Where is he?" Anders asked frustrated, slightly scared, slightly angry all mixed up in a bunch of emotions.
" Dead." Fenris replyed speaking up. Anders turned to him, finally looking at him for the first time since he entered the room. He eyed him a moment in puzzlement, then looked away.
" Well no wonder you all look like you've seen a spirit." He said and reached over and touched Neria's thigh. She looked over to meet his eyes.
" What did he do as me other then blow up a Chantry. I mean I know thats bad." Anders said nodding.
" Long story short, he ignited a mage-templar war, incited rebellion, and became a martyer." Anders swallowed heavily and tightened his hand almost painfully on her thigh, digging nails in, she wasn't sure if he noticed he did it or not.
" No shit?" She snorted.
" Yes Anders, no shit." Neria said seriously. Anders removed his hand from her thigh finally and rubbed at his scruffy jaw.
" How did he even do that? I thought he was free when Kristoff was smushed." Anders said eloquently. Neria rolled her eyes.
" Well apparently he had a plan C in the works we didn't know about, Justice had access to our library he could have found a spell or ritual in there, or maybe he fully became a demon." Neria shook her head just as puzzled.
" Why me though? Justice and I never got along." Neria shrugged.
" Who better then someone he spent a lot of time around?" Anders sighed and looked at Hawke this time.
" Did he…play me at least right? I mean was he a douche bag as me? He wasn't right? That would be worse." Anders asked.
" Then blowing up an Chantry and igniting a war?" Neria asked sarcatically. Anders rubbed the back of his neck with a embarrassed look.
" Well no, thats not what I meant, I mean it would be worse then it already is." Anders corrected.
" You're similar, but not the same. Anders, my Anders, was more moody. Struggling with himself. More involved in mage rights. You seem more carefree with life. You're different. Same voice and body it seems like, but not the same." Hawke answered his question. Anders frowned at that.
" This is so weird, why does all this shit happen with you?" Anders asked glaring acusingly at Neria.
" This has happened before?" Merrill asked surprised and intrigued.
" Not this in particular no, but a collective shit hitting the fan yes, its always something with wardens." Anders said shaking his head.
" It's always something with us too." Merrill pipped up wanting to add to the conversation. Anders sighed at that.
" Wardens sorry to interrupt, but I'm just not sure how to feel about all of this, it's been a long trip and I need some time to think about this. Anders was my….close friend." Hawke hesitated over saying what she meant to say with Anders in the room. Neria wasn't sure why. Maybe she didn't want to scare Anders by saying she had slept with his double.
" Anders was apart of all our lives for seven years, to know it was a lie. It's kind of hard to take in." Hawke finished. Neria nodded.
" Understood Hawke, Nate will take you to some rooms that are available to get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow." Neria offered and stood. Hawke nodded gratefully.
XxxxXxxXxxXxxXxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxXxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxXxxXx
Hawke
Hawke was impressed with Vigils keep, the room she and Merril were given was large and nicely decorated even if a little dusty and unused. Hawke didn't mind sharing a room with Merril but she rather be alone with her thoughts right now, and Merril wasn't just going to allow that. Fenris got his own room to his surprise, he asked Howe about it.
" You're not Wardens, you're guests. You get you're own rooms. Wardens bunk together except for senior wardens like myself and Anders and Ohgren, of course Neria gets her own room as Commander, There are only two guest rooms. We don't get many of those if any, so we only keep the two, the rest we use for storage." He confessed to why Merril and Hawke had to share.
" If you need anything my room is second door to the right." He offered then left them alone. Fenris didn't leave them to his own room, he joined them in theirs obviously this was going to be a conversation kind of night Hakwe guessed. She knew they would want to talk, she just wasn't sure she was up to it. She wasn't sure how to cope with all this new information.
" Isn't it a good thing Anders is alive?" Merril asked looking to Hawke's expression no doubt turning down. Fenris at the fireplace propping it up, like he did doorways and walls usually, was standing there staring at Hawke as well awaiting her answer. Hawke sat on the edge of the bed, with her elbows to her knees and head lowered so her hair fell over her face obsureng it from view momentarily.
" Justice, Anders, Whomever he was, was still my…friend, lies or not. I just don't know why a spirit would go throught all that trouble. Why would he even be with me, a cover, or did he really care? Can spirits care for people? Did we not earn his trust after seven years?" Hawke asked obviously hurt. Troubled with the entire thing. Merril reached over and touched her hair gently. Hawke glanced over at the comforting touch, lyerium colored eyes wary.
" But Hawke we were friends with the lie, not the spirit, the person he pretended to be not who he was." Merrill said softly. Fenris glanced her way curiously. Hawke's browns knitted at her words.
" What are you trying to say Merril?" Hawke asked. Merrill shook her head.
" Anders, the real one, is still alive. He's not the one we knew, but the he was the lie, the person, he's real." Merrill said simply. Hawke put her face in her hands.
" But he's not our Anders. He's not the person we know. He looked at us and didn't even recongize us." He wasn't the same, it wasn't like she could just start over from the start like nothing had happened, like she hadn't killed Anders her lover.
" Isn't it better to have him at all Hawke? I know it was difficult to grant Anders the release he wished, this…this can help you. You miss him don't you? I know he's not our Anders." Merrill explained.
" But at least give him a chance. Seeing him alive is better then him being dead isn't is?" Merrill asked.
XxxXxxXxxXxxxXxXxXxxXxxXxxXxxxXxxXxxXxxXxxxXXxXxxXXxxXxxXXxxXxxxXxxxXxX
Neria
" So Justice showed himself finally. " Nathaniel said as he dodged Neria's humming blade. She had become quite skilled as an Arcane warrior in the time he had known her, she was one before they had met of course, but she had gotten much better at it. Now the strength of her was dangerous, she was a warroir in her own way and it was troublesome sparing with her. He had trouble douding her blade and had to get healed by Anders more then not when they did train together.
"It's all too bizarre for my tastes, why use Anders form for seven years, was meeting Hawke a coincidence, or was it on purpose? Was he using her? What was his real plan with Anders here? It all makes my nose itch." Neria confessed then swung her blade catching him unaware and hitting his blades and sending shock waves up his arms and his teeth aching at the force of the blow.
" He's dead though." Nathaniel pointed out shaking out his arms to try to get the tingles out of them from the force of her last blow. She sometimes didn't know her own strength. Her magic chaneled through the blade made into strength and power to become a warrior. She was a powerful mage after all, he wasn't even sure how powerful, he never saw her do magic before, not anything outside her blade.
Neria shook her head at him and dodged an attack as he flung throwing blades at her side, she rolled out of the way and bounced back up and swung at him immediately after quickly. He hissed as the blade caught him below the ribs.
" Krisstoff being killed hadn't killed him, why would this?" Neria asked seriously. Nathaniel thought about that, then shrugged slightly and she had a point.
" Was he in a new body or did he use a spell, perhaps he was struggling and he was going mad truely here." Nathaniel said back as he readied for more attacks. Neria spun frigned an attack and swept his feet out from under him in a surprise attack he didn't expect from her, he fell flat on his back, he blinked up at her as he felt her warm blade on his cheek. Her blade was always slightly warm, but it wasn't coated in anything elemental like it would be in battle.
" Good spar Neria." Nathaniel said as she removed the blade. She grinned down at him and offred a hand, he took it and she helped him up with it. He was in a lose fitting shirt and leathers, she was in a loose fitting black shirt she tied at the waist to show the muscled plains of her stomach.
" What are you going to do with Hawke?" Nathaniel asked glancing around the mainly empty training room. A few wardens spared further away and one practiced alone doing hits to a dummy. Then there was the group watching them spar. There was always a group watching Neria spar with anyone. It was like a sideshow always.
" We're supposed to stay neutral." Neria reminded Nathaniel. He shrugged at her.
" Can we really stay neutral when it involves Justice an a warden?" He asked in turn. She sighed at him.
" Justice does complicate things. I guess they can stay, I did say that I'd call Alistair here after all." She muttered obviously not to thrilled about doing anything involving the King.
" Look there." Nathaniel nudged her. She glanced at the group of onlookers. The marked elf stood out among her uniformed wardens, not only do to the lyerium marked skin, but because he stood awkwardly and out of place.
" If you have time to watch you have time to train! Get to it!" Neria commanded them. The warden onlookeres jumped to attention and went to sparing with then others. Neria walked over to Fenris with Nathaniel trailing behind her.
XxxXxxxXxxXxxxXxxXxxxXxxXxxXxxxxXxxxxxxXxxxXxxxXxxxxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxxXxxx
End chapter:
Well thats the end of the chapter hope you guys enjoyed it. I'll write more soon. Trying to get more of my other fic's updated so…might take me a little longer to get this out but I will get more out. Thanks for reading and reviewing! It makes me happy!
Kyo~