That night, Claire contacted Evan to see how things were going, and to see if she'd missed anything, but they hadn't even gotten into the Deep Roads yet. She wanted very much to go practice her Fade teleport, but Anders was clinging to her more than usual since her stunt and she felt bad for even thinking of leaving him to do something that terrified him. He just didn't understand what it could mean, though. Saving mages would be so easy if she could teleport. She could easily find his phylactery and give it to him, without anyone even knowing. She sighed. Maybe some day she would tell him, after she'd perfected it. She imagined herself handing him the phylactery and seeing his expression. What could be better?

It wasn't long, though, before Anders got a lead and left Denerim. He said he'd be back as soon as he could, but couldn't tell her how long that would take, so she said she'd go take care of some things herself. Their room was as good a place as any, and made sure she paid the innkeeper two weeks in advance, just in case. She would figure it out.

After four weeks of trying to get somewhere, Evan was finally back at Redcliffe, Anders had come and gone again, and she had finally figured it out. By the time Arl Eamon had made it to Denerim, she had even figured out how to remain invisible in the physical world and just be an observer, which she figured out be of the utmost importance when teleporting, so she didn't land on anyone. But, she still kept it from Anders. She didn't want him to know she'd gone behind his back and continued her dangerous research because she didn't want to worry him with the knowledge.

Since they'd started seeing each other in person, he'd gotten a lot more attached to her than she had expected, and hoped it wouldn't change anything. She couldn't imagine a timeline where he didn't join with Justice, where he didn't meet up with Hawke and help out the Deep Roads expedition, or blow up the Chantry. She definitely had to make sure he kept looking for his phylactery... everything she knew hinged on him being made a Warden. Perhaps the mages of Thedas would lead their own rebellion, but it'd take longer without Meredith going crazy from the red lyrium and being pushed over the edge with Orsino and Anders...

But at the same time, she wanted to say "damn the timeline!" and save Anders from all the pain and agony the future held for him. What would such a selfish decision do? She doubted it would stop the Dread Wolf from gaining help from Corypheus, and with all the mages still in the Circle... how would their plan work? Would they still target the Divine? The Venatori wouldn't just stop either... she couldn't be selfish, she needed to let him live the life he was meant to live, and while he wouldn't understand, it was what had to happen and she just had to live with it, just as she lived with the deaths of the Wardens.

Claire was invited to stay at Arl Eamon's estate, and since Anders had left again, she agreed. It was a lot nicer than the dirty little room at the inn and she felt like royalty sleeping on the best bed she'd ever been on. Everyone else was there as well, and she had a long talk with Evan about everything, even though they'd been speaking in the Fade constantly anyway. He never liked the Fade, though, so it helped him have a real person to talk to. Everything was going according to the timeline, even if she wasn't sure she liked his choices.

She felt very awkward in the estate, not knowing how to be proper at all in Ferelden, and feeling even worse trying to be proper Tevinter style. At least it was better than acting like she'd been living in the wild for the past year... even Morrigan seemed to have more grace than she did. Claire was more than glad when the meal was done and she could go back to being herself, but then Alistair pulled her to the side.

"I was wondering if we could talk." Looking at him suspiciously, she tried to figure out if she should be worried or not.

"Ok, I'm free now." She said. "What's on your mind?"

"Look, you've been with us for almost a year, yet I don't feel like you're really into this fight."

"What do you mean?" Claire started getting defensive and tried to clamp down on her emotions.

"I mean you've been coming and going, disappearing for weeks at a time." He was definitely irritated with her. "Even Morrigan has been here the entire time. We can't count on someone like you, though. Why do you even come back?"

Control... She thought. "I have been keeping constant contact with Evan throughout this entire ordeal, and I have been there every time he has needed me. Every single time he has asked for my help. I have never left you in a needed time, and I've been doing things elsewhere to help out that only Evan knows about, and it's fine that way. Not everyone needs to know what I'm doing, or even what I can do. And yet here you are doubting my desire to help. What, do you want me to leave altogether?"

"I..." He was shocked at Claire's outburst and had trouble speaking. "I'm sorry, I didn't know... What... if you don't mind my asking, what else can you do?"

"Did you miss the part where I said people don't need to know?" She shook her head. "Suffice to say I'm not exactly a normal mage, and my talents lie... elsewhere. Now, are we good, or do you want to yell at me about something else?"

He pouted. "I didn't yell."

"No, just reprimanded me, and told me how disappointed in me you are." She laughed. "Even Duncan left me to my own devices. Perhaps I've just taken to having freedom too much after spending what, eight years enslaved?" It made Alistair look awkward and sorry, and she shook her head again before he could reply. "It's ok, Alistair. I understand your concern. This whole mess is a huge deal, and we need everyone we can get on board."

He was only slightly relieved. "Thank you, for speaking with me. I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions, I shouldn't have assumed, it's just hard, you know."

"You will survive, of that I'm certain." Claire said. "I will do everything I can in my power to ensure it. I will be there, don't worry."

"Don't worry, she says, as the archdemon knocks on our back door with Loghain at the front." He chuckled.

"Loghain won't be easy, but I think he'll be easier than the archdemon, and we'll make sure his head is detached from his body before long."

"Yes, we'll make him pay."

Claire didn't recognize the elf as she walked in, but she was fairly certain she was Anora's maid, and that they'd be called to save her.

"Come on, we'll need your help on this one." Evan said as he approached Claire. "You're really good at disappearing." He grinned.

"Oh, I take it a stealth mission is in order?" She smiled back.

"The queen has been taken captive and her maid entreats us to save her." Evan rolled his eyes and sighed, reminding Claire he was only nineteen. He had certainly grown a bit in the year she'd known him, though. He was no longer the naive young mage fresh from the Circle still filled with bitter anger at his friend for betraying him.

"Well then, her majesty awaits."

Claire followed Alistair, Evan, and Leliana to the arl's estate, and she was reminded of her first visit to the place and hoped they didn't recognize her. She didn't have the scar back then, at least, so that should throw them off. They changed into the guard outfits and went in. Claire was as sneaky as she could be, thankful she'd gotten good at the Fade crossover if she needed to disappear for a second. They managed to rescue Riordan, and found a few other people down in the dungeon that needed help, and they agreed to speak against Loghain for the Wardens.

Then there was Howe, and Claire found that she still hated the bastard as if he had killed her family. She knew Elissa had been there, and how could he kill her? She did not regret helping kill the man. When they got to Anora, she was dressed in armor, ready to go, and then the guard surrounded them, demanding their surrender.

"You are under arrest for the murders of Arl Howe and his men at arms." The voice echoed in Claire's head.

"I will come with you peacefully." Evan said.

"Why stop now?" Alistair said, his voice full of anger. "When they're all that stand between us and freedom?"

"Killing them will only reinforce their lies against us."

Then the lieutenant said, "I'm surprised this ended peacefully." Turning to her men, she said, "Bring the Wardens. Loghain doesn't care about the rest." Claire found herself being pushed along with Alistair and Evan, and part of her wanted to correct them, but instead found herself shaking her head at Leliana, to silence her. She could help at the tower, and Evan seemed to agree, as he said nothing.

Fort Drakon was an unpleasant place, and Claire wondered what they had in store for a couple mages. Would they have a Templar around? Then she got hit in the head and blacked out.

She was in pain when she woke up, in her underwear, her arms stretched above her head by a rope, and a rope stretching her legs as well. What would they do if she burned the ropes? She decided to find out and incinerated the ropes, getting up quickly.

"She's a mage!" One of the guards yelled.

"Don't worry, we were warned about this one." Another guard said. He quickly chanted something from a scroll he had, and Claire found herself without magic. Absolutely nothing, and she couldn't go into the Fade. There was nothing.

"What did you do?" She yelled. The guard merely smiled in return as the others rounded on her and took her captive again. She was panicking so much, she barely noticed when they dragged her past the cell where Evan and Alistair were being kept. Evan rushed to the bars and stared at her as she fought the guards, but they kept tight hold of her and dragged her into a small room full of torture devices.

"Where are they taking Claire?" Evan asked, staring after her. "Why isn't she fighting back? She looked so terrified!" He was starting to panic himself, since he'd never seen her helpless before.

"Chances are they did something to nullify her magic." Alistair said. "We need to get out of here before they do the same to you. How are we supposed to escape?"

"We either wait for the others, or do something ourselves." Evan growled, looking around. He quietly walked over to the door and froze the lock, then sent a stone fist into it.

"You're going to attract attention!" Alistair whispered. Evan didn't care, and did it again, this time breaking the door open. Before the guard could say anything, he froze him too and Alistair smashed him. They ran to a chest, looking for their gear, but found only some food. Another chest had books, but then the third had their stuff.

"Grab Claire's as well, we'll find where they took her." Evan looked around to the area the guards had taken Claire and pointed to a door. "It's strange, but I can feel magical energy building up in there." Then as Alistair's hand touched the doorknob, they felt a blast of magic. Alistair quickly opened the door, to find Claire standing, glowing, in the middle of the room. She had her hand to the torturer's head, while the room was covered in blood and littered with dead guards. After a minute, she let the man go and he collapsed on the ground in a sobbing mess.

"Claire..." Alistair and Evan stared in shock.

"We... we brought your clothes." Evan said.

She continued to stare at the ground, her eyes glowing white with her fists clenched at her side. "I... this... this wasn't supposed to happen... I just... I just wanted to leave, I wanted to get out, and now they're all dead." Her eyes slowly faded back to normal.

"Claire..." Evan slowly approached her and handed her the gear, noticing her hands were shaking as she took it.

"Thank you..." She said. He couldn't help but notice all the scars she had covering her body, and the fresh wounds that would add to them. He turned to leave.

"We'll just be waiting outside when you're ready." He said.

That was not what was supposed to happen. Claire wasn't even certain what had happened, except that she'd gotten her magic back quite suddenly while they were torturing her, and something snapped in her, sending a blast of magic that tore the guards to shreds. The torturer, on the other hand, she decided to do something else to. She slipped her cuffs and went into his mind, pouring all of the pain and suffering she could into him. He could at least live with that. As he fell, she heard something at the door and realized Evan had seen it. He was at least kind enough to give her her clothing and leave, but she was ashamed.

She slowly walked back out, feeling sticky and gross with all the blood, and wondered if she should just stay behind and teleport out later.

"Shall we?" Evan asked. Claire noted Alistair remained silent, but kept shooting her worried glances. He'd probably never seen a mage do anything like that before. She didn't even know she could, so if he asked for an explanation, she wouldn't be able to give it to him anyway. They went down some hallways without meeting anyone, but then when they got to a big room, they missed seeing the Mabari keeper until the dogs were on them. Claire tried to cast sleep on them, but they resisted and she was forced to defend herself.

Looking to Evan, she said, "Lead the way." They crept out into another hallway and looked around before finding a room with spare guard uniforms. Unfortunately, there were only two.

"You go on ahead, I'll just sneak out as a bird or something." She sighed. "I'd do Mabari but the others would be able to tell I'm a stranger and it'd be too dangerous."

"Are you sure?" Alistair asked, concerned.

"I'm not comfortable just leaving you behind without making sure you're all right." Evan said.

She smiled and shrugged. "Trust me, I can get out. Remember, I got in the Circle tower just fine." Evan didn't look like he believed her, but nodded. She transformed and flew out of the room and to the ceiling. Once she was certain they weren't going to see her, she teleported outside of the fort and perched on a tree near the entrance to wait for them. She was starting to get worried until she saw them come out, still dressed as guards.

She followed them as they made their way back to the estate, debating on whether or not she should go in yet. She didn't really want to talk to anyone, yet she at least wanted to let them know she had made it out alive. She swooped down and transformed before alerting them to her presence. Evan smiled and Alistair looked relieved.

"See, I told you I could get out." She said.

"Good. Let's not keep everyone else waiting then." Evan paused, then looked at Claire. "Back at the fort... I won't tell anyone what you did. No one needs to know." He shot a glance at Alistair, who, while confused, nodded.

"Nor will I." He said. "I don't know what sort of magic you have, but your secret is safe with us."

She smiled. "Thank you both, so much."

She debated on telling Anders what had happened to her that night in the Fade. It wasn't good to let him worry so much, but she needed someone to talk to about it. He'd probably go on about how she should stay out of danger, and she knew he was just worried, she just didn't want to be treated like a kid who didn't know what she was doing.

Of course, he could tell as soon as he saw her that something was wrong. "Claire, what happened?" He asked. She tried to smile, but instead shrugged.

"We were only trying to help the queen, when the guards took us captive." She said. "Got locked up in Fort Drakon for the day, and they did something weird to me that took all my magical abilities away. I couldn't do anything, Anders! It was horrible!"

He looked stricken. "Are you all right? Surely you're not there now."

"No, we escaped." She smiled. "I made them pay. As soon as my magic came back, I destroyed them all. I... actually didn't know I could do that, it was just... a really powerful burst of magic that ripped the men to pieces... how do you even explain that?"

He frowned. "I can't rightly say, but what I can say is that I am very thankful you made it out." He kissed her. "I should just stay with you, keep you out of trouble."

"I think I'd be fine if it weren't for Evan!" She laughed. "They're always after him and it's not fair, he's just a kid."

"He's fighting against corruption, love. Not just the darkspawn, but the humans." Anders said. "But enough chatter, let's go somewhere beautiful, away from all this mess!" Claire smiled, more than happy to oblige.