The next morning, Melisandria woke with a start as Hammer licked her face, whining. She must have had a horrible nightmare that scared the mabari, something that rarely happened. She rubbed his ears and made sure that he knew that she was ok. She got out of bed and got dressed in a purple tunic that had no sleeves and a v-cut down the center featuring a leather cord that weaved through the loop holes to tie it shut, a pair of dark brown light leather leggings, a pair of hard leather boots. She braided the top of her hair and let the rest hang loose. She looked in the large looking glass on her dresser and smiled. She was happy with her appearance. She touched the wolf head amulet Liam had given her as it rested against the center of her chest plate.
Ready for the day, Melisandria went down to the kitchen where Sandal and Bodahn and packed some food and wished them a good morning before heading out. She stopped by the Hanged Man to see if Varric wanted to come with her, as she was planning to go see the men who worked in the Bone Pit, the men who were under her protection. Varric said he missed the men and agreed to come along. Next, Melisandria stopped by Anders' clinic and then by Fenris' mansion, as they too had helped to eradicate the dragons to ensure the miners' safety. When they had joined her, they all made their way up through Hightown and out into the Free Marches towards the Bone Pit.
A short while after they started their trek, Hammer began to growl. Melisandria and her companions stopped and looked around, readying their weapons. A group of people that looked like Tevinters came up to them, surrounding them on all sides.
"Hunters..." Fenris said.
"Stop right there! You are in possession of stolen property." one of the hunters said from above them on the cliffs. "Back away from the slave now and you'll be spared."
Melisandria readied her staff and stepped in front of Fenris. "Fenris is a free man! He is not a slave and you will not take him!" she yelled back at the hunter.
"I won't repeat myself." the hunter said.
"And I won't repeat myself. You will not have him!" Melisandria retorted, interrupting the hunter.
"Back away from the slave now!" the hunter said again.
"I am not your slave!" Fenris cried and summoned his lyrium abilities, attacking the slavers.
Melisandria and the others followed suit, attacking the slavers and the hunters. Melisandria and Anders threw spell after spell at the hunters while Varric shot the hunters with Bianca's bolts and Fenris hacked away at them in a lyrium fitted rage. When they were all but dead, Fenris walked over to the remaining survivor.
"Where is he?" he demanded, grabbing the mage's hair and pulling his head back.
"Please, don't kill me!" the mage begged as Fenris slammed his face against the sandy ground.
"Tell me!" Fenris demanded.
"I don't know!" the mage said. "I don't know, I swear! Hadriana brought us! She's at the holding caves north of the city! I can show you the way!" The mage was pleading, trying to bargain with Fenris.
"No need." Fenris said. "I know which ones you speak of."
The mage looked up at Fenris as best he could and begged, "Then let me go. I beg you! I swear I won't-"
Ignoring the mage's pleas, Fenris said with a grimacing tone, "You chose the wrong master." and snapped the mage's neck.
Standing, with his back still to the others, Fenris growled the name Hadriana. As he turned to face the others, he said, "I was a fool to think I was free. They'll never let me be!"
Melisandria had sheathed her staff and looked at Fenris. "We have to do something. This cannot be allowed to continue any longer. Where do we need to go?"
"The holding caves held slaves in the old times, but apparently they are no longer abandoned." Fenris said. "We must go quickly, before Hadriana has a chance to prepare... or flee."
"Let's go then," Melisandria said.
Fenris nodded and led the way up Sundermount toward the holding caves. When they reached the entrance, Fenris stopped and looked at Melisandria. "We must be careful. Hadriana is my former master's old apprentice and she is just as ruthless. There were many such holding caves, especially in the mountains, where individual slavers kept private pens."
"Why would they keep pens?" Melisandria asked.
"They were designed to protect against raids by fellow slavers." Fenris explained. "No doubt it's why Hadriana chose this place."
"Do slavers attack each other often?" Melisandria asked.
"They did." Fenris replied. "What better way to find slavers than to steal them?"
"I see. Well then, let us move on so that we make sure that Hadriana doesn't escape us." Melisandria said.
"Let's hope this isn't a waste of time." Fenris said as he led them into the caves.
They walked through the caves and reached a room where there was a table with a bloody corpse laying upon it, clearly the remains of a sacrifice.
"See for yourself the work of the magisters." Fenris said as they passed by and continued down through the hallways.
As they made their way through the eerie tunnels of the holding caves, they passed several empty prisons. They encountered several corpses and skeletons that were brought to life by dark magik and fought their way through them. When they defeated them and moved on until they reached a large room, they were attacked by slavers. They battled the slavers until they had killed every last one in the room. Nearby, a young elf maiden stood, frightened.
"Are you hurt?" Fenris asked as they approached her. "Did they touch you?"
The elf maiden shook her head. "They've been killing everyone! They cut papa, they bled him..." she cried, tears and desperation in her eyes.
"Why?" Fenris asked. "Why would they do this?"
"It's a demon at work." Anders said. "By this point, there's nothing human left inside."
"The magister... she said she needed power, that someone was coming to kill her." the elf said. "We tried to be good! We did everything we were told! She loved papa's soup. I don't understand..."
"Is the magister still here?" Melisandria asked.
"I... think so." the elf replied. "The magister said they were to prepare for battle. I think she's very frightened!"
"She has every reason to be." Fenris said.
"Please, don't hurt her! She'll be so angry if you hurt her!" the elf begged.
"We may not have any choice." Melisandria said. "This has been terrible for you."
"Everything was fine until today!" the elf said.
"It wasn't," Fenris said, his face falling. "You just didn't know any better."
"Are you my master now?" the elf asked, sounding hopeful.
"What? No!" Fenris said, rejecting the idea.
"But... I can cook. I can clean! What else will I do?" the elf said.
Thinking for a moment, Melisandria smiled. "If you go to Kirkwall, I can help you. Wait at the Hawke estate and I'll head straight there when we are finished with our business here."
"Yes? Oh, praise the Maker! Thank you!" the elf said and ran off.
"I did not realize that you were in the market for slaves." Fenris snarled at Melisandria.
Melisandria smacked him across the face, hurt that he would even say a thing like that. "I gave her a job, Fenris. I will pay her just as I pay Bodahn and Sandal for their services. How dare you think that I would ever take on a slave! What kind of person do you think I am?"
Varric and Anders stared in bewilderment when they saw how red Fenris' cheek was. Fenris put a hand to his throbbing cheek.
"I apologize. I should not have doubted you. It is good that you gave her a job, it will provide her with a new life and freedom." Fenris said, ashamed that he ever doubted Melisandria.
"Don't just go jumping to conclusions, Fenris." Melisandria said, her voice softening. "Now, let's find this magister and put an end to all this."
Fenris nodded and watched as Melisandria marched on forward through to the next room. He and the others followed behind her. Varric chuckled to himself, but shrugged and played dumb when Fenris glared at him. Anders thought he deserved it. They continued through the halls and finally made it to a large room where they had finally found Hadriana. Hadriana gasped when she saw Fenris and began to summon shades and rage demons and corpses in a frantic attempt to kill him and the others.
Melisandria and Anders drew their staffs, trying to use dispel spells to deflect Hadriana's spells. They fought off the demons and corpses, and when she managed to clear a pathway, Melisandria went at Hadriana. She threw spells at her and deflected the ones Hadriana threw at her. When she managed to dodge the spells and get in close enough, Melisandria began to beat Hadriana down with her staff, cutting her a few times with the blade at the end of her staff.
"How could you treat Fenris like that?" Melisandria yelled as she gave up on her staff and began to punch Hadriana with her fists. "He is not a slave and you cannot have him!"
Behind her, Fenris, Varric, and Anders had finished off the demons and corpses and were watching Melisandria beat the living hell out of Hadriana. They watched in awe and fear, having never seen her like that before.
"You know nothing, child!" Hadriana managed to say.
"I know nothing? How about you take a look in a mirror. Fenris is a free man; he has earned his freedom many times over! You will not take him from me!" Melisandria retorted and threw one final punch before she backed away, panting. "You will never know the freedom Fenris has found. You have become a slave to your own magik, allowing it to consume you. You make me sick!"
Fenris stepped forward with his sword drawn as Hadriana lay on the ground, beaten.
"Stop! You do not want me dead." Hadriana said, pleading for her life.
"There is only one person I want dead more." Fenris said.
"I have information, elf, and I will trade it in return for my life." Hadriana said.
Laughing in spite of her, Fenris said, "The location of Danarius? What good will that do me? I'd rather he lose his pet pupil."
"You have a sister." Hadriana said. "She is alive."
Melisandria could sense the shock of hearing that radiating off of Fenris.
"You wish to reclaim your life? Let me go, and I will tell you where she is." Hadriana said.
"How do we know you speak the truth?" Melisandria asked.
"You don't." Hadriana smirked. "But I know Fenris, and I know what he's searching for. If he wants me to betray Danarius, he'll have to pay for it."
"Fenris, this is your call. If she speaks the truth, it may be worth listening to what she has to say." Melisandria said, looking at Fenris.
As Fenris walked up to Hadriana, she asked, "So I have your word? I tell you, and you let me go?"
"Yes," he replied, leaning in close. "You have my word."
"Her name is Varania. She is in Qurinus serving a magister by the name of Ahriman." Hadriana informed him.
"A servant. Not a slave." Fenris said.
"She's not a slave." Hadriana confirmed.
"I believe you." Fenris said, then summoned his lyrium abilities and thrust his hand into her chest, crushing the magister's heart.
Standing, he began to walk away from Hadriana's corpse. "We are done here."
Melisandria looked at him, concerned. "Are you alright, Fenris? Do you wish to talk about it?"
"No, I don't want to talk about it!" Fenris retorted, turning angrily to face Melisandria. "This could be a trap! Danarius could have sent Hadriana here to tell me about this 'sister'."
Melisandria winced at his harsh tone. "But what if she is speaking the truth?"
"Even if he didn't, trying to find her would still be suicide! Danarius has to know about her and has to know that Hadriana knows." Fenris continued. "But all that matters is I finally got to crush that bitch's heart. May she rot and all the other mages with her."
Melisandria felt a pain in her chest when he said that and felt tears beginning to brew. Next to her, Anders made a snide comment. "And here I thought you were unreasonable..."
"Fenris, I'm sorry." Melisandria said, holding back her tears. She placed a hand on Fenris' shoulder and added, "Maybe we should leave..."
"No, I don't want you comforting me." Fenris retorted, shaking off her gentle hand. "You saw what was done here. There's always going to be some reason, some excuse why mages need to do this."
"Fenris, that's not fair and you know it!" Melisandria said, defensively. "We are not all like Danarius or Hadriana."
"You are but one mage I have yet met who hasn't shown me that you are like them." Fenris acknowledged. "Even if I found my sister, who knows what the magisters have done to her. What has magik touched that it doesn't spoil?"
"Is that how you truly feel about magik? Even after what we have been through?" Melisandria asked.
Ignoring her, Fenris put a hand to his forehead. "I... need to go." And with that, Fenris left the holding caves.
Melisandria watched him leave, not sure what to do. Next to her, Varric and Anders came up, not sure what to say or do either. Anders put a hand on her shoulder, trying to make sure that Melisandria was OK. Melisandria placed a hand on his and managed a smile.
"Let's get out of here." Varric said.
Melisandria nodded and they left. When they reached the outside world again, Fenris was nowhere to be seen. Figuring he went home, they made their own ways back to their homes after they had stopped by the Bone Pit. The workers were happy to see Melisandria, thanking her for the visit and for making the mines safe for them again. They even thanked her for getting them a raise- she had convinced them to go back to work after defeating the dragons by doubling their salary, knowing that Hubert would have to comply and knowing that the men more than deserved it. Satisfied that the workers were happy, they made their way back to town and went their separate ways.
When Melisandria got home, she sighed, taking her boots off near the front door, having gotten them caked with mud and not wishing to make more of a mess in the house. When she looked up, Fenris was sitting there on one of the benches, resting his arms on his knees.
"Fenris? What are you doing here?" Melisandria asked.
Fenris stood. "Mel, I..."
Shaking her head, Melisandria went into the next room. Bodahn and Sandal weren't around at that moment, so Melisandria assumed they went out to the market as they usually did on days like this. "Fenris, I don't even know what to say to you right now."
Stopping her by the fireplace, Fenris said, "I've been thinking about what happened with Hadriana. I took out my anger on you, undeservedly so. I was... not myself." He looked at her. "I'm sorry."
Melisandria looked at him, seeing that he was truly sorry and trying to find a way to make sure that she knew that. She sighed and said, "Fenris, I was worried about you. I had no idea where you went; I was concerned."
"I needed to be alone." Fenris said, looking away for a moment. "When I was still a slave, Hadriana was a torment. She would ridicule me, deny my meals, hound my sleep. Because of her status, I was powerless to respond and she knew it. The thought of her slipping out of my grasp now... I couldn't let her go. I wanted to, but I couldn't."
"What do you mean, Fenris?" Melisandria asked.
"This hate... I thought I'd gotten away from it. But it dogs me no matter where I go." he replied. "To feel it again, to know it was they who planted it inside me... it was too much to bear." Turning away, he added, "But I didn't come to burden you further."
"Fenris, don't go." Melisandria said. "You don't need to leave." She reached out and grabbed his arm.
He tensed and glowed as he pushed her against the wall, pinning her. When he realized what he was doing, he relaxed and backed away. "I'm sorry, but I think it best for both of us if I leave."
Leaving Melisandria leaning against the wall, dumbfounded, Fenris left the Hawke estate and went home. Feeling her heart pounding, Melisandria went to go lay down. A knock came from the door, though, and she went to answer it. The elf maiden from the holding caves was waiting outside.
"Ah, I finally found you!" she said.
"It's you!" Melisandria said with a surprised smile. "I am glad that you made it."
"It was difficult to find your home, but it is a good thing that you are as well-known as you are. The people here are very nice and were kind enough to point me to your home."
Melisandria let her come in. "What is your name?"
"Orana, Mistress." the elf said.
"That is a beautiful name. I am Melisandria Hawke."
Orana bowed in respect to her. "Thank you for letting me come here. I will serve you faithfully."
"Orana, if you are going to live here and work for me, it will be as my servant. I don't want you to continue to be a slave. You'll be paid like everyone else here and you will have your own room." Melisandria explained.
"I won't be a slave?" Orana asked. "But that's all I have ever known. Papa was a slave and his papa before him. I shall try my best, then, Mistress and do my best."
"You are welcome to come and go as you like, as well. Now, please, make yourself comfortable. If you'd like, in the morning, we can even go to the Hightown market and buy some clothes and other things for you so that you have more available to you."
Orana smiled. "I would greatly appreciate that, Mistress."
"Then it's settled. We shall go in the morning. Now, get some rest and I'll make dinner tonight." Melisandria said and showed Orana to her new room.
Going to the kitchen, Melisandria began to make dinner. She cut up some vegetables, some meat and fired up the stove. She put the meat in a skillet and filled a pot with water, then put the vegetables into the pot. Using one her mother's favorite recipes, Melisandria began to put everything together for the roast, steamed vegetables and potatoes, and a hearty gravy. When Bodahn and Sandal returned, Melisandria had finished dinner and had it ready and waiting.
"Mistress, you should not have made dinner." Bodahn said. "We would have done it."
"It's quite alright, Bodahn." Melisandria said. "Ah, there you are, Orana." she added as Orana entered the room. "Bodahn, this is Orana. I saved her from a magister and offered her a position here in the estate. She can cook and clean, so some of the burden will be taken off of you."
Bodahn smiled warmly at Orana and welcomed her to the estate. He introduced Sandal to her as well, and Melisandria smiled when Sandal danced around the kitchen in joy to have a new friend.
"You are part of the family now, Orana. I'm sure that you will meet my mother, Leandra, in the morning." Melisandria added.
Orana thanked them gratefully and bowed before she joined them around the kitchen table. They began to eat their meal and Bodahn entertained them with stories of his travels with Sandal. Some of them were beyond belief, some were funny, but they made everyone smile and enjoy the night. When the meal was over and the night had grown late, everyone retired for the night. Melisandria told everyone to take the rest of the night off and offered to clean everything up herself. Reluctantly, they went to bed and let Melisandria clean up things. When everything was clean and put away, Melisandria went to bed herself, Hammer close behind her.
The following morning, Melisandria woke and went downstairs for breakfast, dressed in a green and white dress with silver embroidery that came just below her knees. Beneath it, she wore tan leggings that came just above her ankles and green shoes. She tied her hair up in a bun, letting part of it hang down, and put a pair of jade earrings that hung down in a drop into her ears. As she entered the kitchen, Orana bowed in greeting and Leandra looked up with a smile.
"Good morning, dear. You look very beautiful today; green suits you well." she said.
"Thank you, Mother. I see that you have met Orana." Melisandria replied.
"Your mama is a very kind woman. I am glad to serve you both." Orana said.
Leandra smiled. "I like this girl. She made breakfast, too. It's very delicious; come have some."
Melisandria nodded and joined her family for breakfast. They ate and talked, Leandra tried to get to know Orana better. When breakfast was finished, Melisandria mentioned that she had offered to take Orana to the market in Hightown to get some personal things to spruce up her room and help her feel more welcome. Leandra thought it was a grand idea and wanted to come along, though couldn't because she had made plans to visit a close family friend for the majority of the day. Melisandria understood and suggested that they head out soon, so they cleaned up and left the Hawke estate to go to Hightown market.
Orana and Melisandria walked through the streets of Hightown to the market. Liam and some of his friends were out playing and stopped to say hello to Melisandria. Orana watched in amusement as Melisandria hugged Liam and asked how the children were doing. She glanced over and saw Fenris nearby, browsing the weapons stand. Fenris glanced up and was surprised to see Orana, but smiled in welcome, glad to see that she was alright. Then when he looked over at Melisandria enjoying herself, laughing and dancing around with the children. Orana watched his face soften at the sight of Melisandria and she knew that look immediately. She had seen her mama and papa look at each other like that once upon a time.
Liam and the others needed to go somewhere else, so Liam hugged Melisandria tightly and ran off with his friends. Melisandria smiled as he ran off and turned to Orana. She was still unaware of Fenris' presence nearby.
"You are a wonderful woman, Mistress. The children really love you." Orana said. "You have really made a difference in their lives."
"I have tried; someone has to look out for these children. Liam is such a dear boy." Melisandria said. "Now, let's see if we can find you something you like."
And with that, Melisandria and Orana spent hours browsing the wares, buying clothes, trinkets, and some furniture for Orana's room, all her choices so that it had the most personal touch possible. Done with their errands, they asked one of the stands' keeper if his assistant could help them bring things to the estate. The keeper agreed, sending a young elf with them. The elf pulled a cart of all of the furniture and heavy items Melisandria and Orana had purchased, the labor not seeming to faze him at all. When they reached the estate, Bodahn and Sandal came out to help bring things inside. They brought everything into the main room of the estate, leaving everything there until it was all unloaded. The young elf offered to help set things up and Melisandria and Orana graciously accepted. They began to bring everything in, one by one, to Orana's room and arranged things the way Orana wanted them.
After some time, Orana finally had a room that was suited to her. She thanked Melisandria many times, gratefully for the support and a home. Leaving Orana to herself, Melisandria went to her writing desk to check for letters. There was a note from Anders, asking her to come to the clinic. Grabbing her things, Melisandria went down to the cellar and entered Darktown. When she went through the door, Anders looked up and beckoned her over.
"Have you noticed how many Tranquil there are in the Gallows courtyard lately?" Anders asked. "And don't tell me I'm just sensitive to it. I've been watching and every day there are new Tranquil, selling their bloody wares. Good mages, too, ones I know passed their Harrowing."
"But that's against the law, right?" Melisandria asked. "Doesn't Chantry law say that all mages who pass their Harrowing can't be made Tranquil?"
Anders nodded. "Exactly. The templars are using the rite of Tranquility to silence those who speak against them. They are working on a deliberate plan to turn every mage in Kirkwall within the next three years." "Anders, whatever you may think of templars, you can't imagine they're all so heartless." Melisandria said.
Anders shook his head. "They're worse. There are groups in Kirkwall who help those fleeing the Circle. I've talked to people on the inside. The plan is the work of a templar called Ser Alrik. I've had a run-in with him myself; he's the one who did the ritual on Karl. He's a nasty piece of work who likes to make mages beg."
"What happened between you and Ser Alrik?" Melisandria asked.
"I've been involved with an... underground resistance. Mages living free in Kirkwall who help others escape." Andes explained. "I can't tell you anymore, for your sake and theirs. You have too much involvement with the guard and nobility. Suffice it to say, I've been in the Gallows; I've seen his work first hand."
"What else do you know about Ser Alrik?" Melisandria asked.
"The Knight-Commander is at least sincere in her convictions." Anders said. "However misguided, she believes she is helping people. Ser Alrik is a sadist, cold-blooded as a lizard; he likes to experiment on mages, find out what it takes to push them into the arms of demons."
"Surely not all templars are that bad. Perhaps the blame could be then put on Ser Alrik?" Melisandria pointed out.
"That is my hope." Anders nodded. "If we bring the evidence of this plan to light, there must be men who'll stand against it. Perhaps even the grand cleric will finally be forced to act."
"So then how do we stop this from going any further?" Melisandria asked.
"My friends from the mage underground know a way inside, a secret entrance under the walls of the Gallows." Anders said, an urgency in his voice. "Come with me tonight, please! Help me find the evidence of Ser Alrik's "Tranquil Solution"."
"What do you mean by that?" Melisandria asked.
"That's what he calls it. His idea of a "peaceful" solution to the mage problem: to sunder the mind of every mage in the Free Marches. I'm told he's bringing his proposal to Val Royeaux, to the Divine herself. He would turn every mage in Thedas into a drooling simpleton, under his command." Anders said.
"Of course I will help you. I wouldn't let you face this alone." Melisandria replied.
Anders smiled. "You are the one bright light in Kirkwall. I have always been afraid of being made Tranquil, now more than ever and I am honored by your trust, Hawke. I'm ready to go whenever you are. Our entrance is concealed not far from here."
"Let's go, then." Melisandria said and followed Anders to the entrance.
As they neared the entrance, Varric and Fenris came up.
"What are you two doing here?" Melisandria asked.
"Blondie asked me to come down here, said he needed help and the extra man power. I thought bringing the elf would up our chances with whatever is going on." Varric replied.
Melisandria smiled at him and nodded. "We will need the extra help. Thank you for coming."
They entered the tunnels, Anders leading the way. They made their way through the tunnels, coming across a few lyrium smugglers here and there. They defeated them with ease and continued forward. As they got further ahead, voices began to echo, getting louder the closer they got. They hurried quietly to see what was going on and that was when they saw something that truly infuriated Anders to the point where Melisandria could feel Justice's energy radiating off of him. They came into the room of the cave, standing behind the group of templars surrounding a poor mage girl.
"No, please! I haven't done anything wrong!" the mage begged, backing away from a templar as he advanced on her.
"That's a lie." he said, leading Melisandria to the conclusion that he was Ser Alrik. "What do we do to mages that lie?"
"I just wanted to see my mum. No one told her where they were taking me." she said in defense.
Beside her, Melisandria saw Anders begin to glow blue.
"No, no this is their place!" he muttered to himself, talking to Justice. "We cannot-"
Ser Alrik continued to advance on the mage. "So you admit you attempted escape?" he drawled. "You know what happens to mage girls who don't toe the line around here, don't you?"
Falling to her knees, the mage begged, "Please, don't make me Tranquil! I'll do anything!"
Chuckling, Ser Alrik retorted, "That's right. Once you're Tranquil, you'll do anything I ask."
Not being able to stand another minute of this, Melisandria stepped forward. "What do you think you are doing to that poor girl? Get your filthy hands off her!"
"You fiends will never touch a mage again!" Anders said, though Melisandria knew that it was now Justice speaking.
The templars attacked and Melisandria and her companions fought back until every last one of the templars was dead. She would have preferred that no one die, but Melisandria knew they had no other choice.
Justice still in control, Anders said, "They will die! I will have every last templar for these abuses."
"Anders, the battle's over! They're all dead." Melisandria said, coming up to him.
"Every one of them will feel justice's burn." Anders, then turned and rushed up to the mage girl as she said to get away from her and called him a demon. "I am no demon! Are you one of them that you would call me such?"
"Anders, don't hurt her! That girl is a mage. We rescued her from being made Tranquil." Melisandria said, trying to get through Justice to her friend Anders.
"She is theirs! I can feel their hold on her!" Anders retorted.
"She's the reason you're fighting, Anders. Do not turn on her now." Melisandria tried again to reach the Anders she knew.
"Please, messere..." the mage pleaded.
Anders was losing control quickly and was about to attack the poor girl when he finally wretched control back from Justice's grasp and stumbled away from the girl. The girl took the chance to run away as Anders tried to regain himself.
"Maker, no. I almost... If you weren't here..." Anders said, his voice trembling as he realized what he had almost done. "I-I need to get out of here." And with that he ran off.
Sighing, Melisandria checked the bodies, trying to find something to incriminate Ser Alrik's "Tranquil Solution", anything that might put Anders' mind at ease. Finding the right papers on Ser Alrik, Melisandria and the others left the tunnels and made their way back to Darktown, where they were met by the mage girl.
"You- you saved my life, messere." the girl said, introducing herself as Ella. "What was that thing?"
"If you are referring to Anders, he is my friend. It's a long story, but suffice it to say that he is not a demon. He is only a very troubled man." Melisandria replied.
"Can I... go home now?" Ella asked.
"Find your parents, but don't stay there. You must leave Kirkwall; it isn't safe." Melisandria said.
"I know. There's nowhere in the city where Ser Alrik's men won't find me." Ella replied. "Thank you again, messere. Andraste herself must have put you in that room."
Melisandria watched as the girl left. Turning to Fenris and Varric, Melisandria said that she was going to go and check on Anders and give him the papers she found. As she walked away, Fenris felt a strange feeling in his gut, like something was going to happen to her, but he couldn't tell if it was good or bad.
Melisandria came into the clinic to find Anders rummaging through some papers, muttering "Trash." and "Keep." to himself.
"Anders, you need to calm down. You're upset; let's talk about it." she said.
Standing, Anders retorted, "Upset doesn't begin to cover it. You were the only thing that kept me from murdering an innocent girl!"
"Ella is alright, though. She is leaving Kirkwall to live a free life, Anders." Melisandria told him.
"It's all gone wrong. Justice and I. We're just a monster, same as any abomination." he said.
"That's not true. Yes, you almost completely lost control, but you stopped yourself. You aren't a monster, nor will you ever become one." Melisandria said, coming closer to him and trying to comfort him. "Even when you were losing control, you heard what I was saying. You knew, in your heart, that you had to stop."
"You have too much faith in me. Without you, I'd never have known who was there until it was too late." he replied, a sullen look playing across his face.
"That's what I'm here for, Anders, to make sure you remain yourself and don't lose yourself to Justice or the Templars. We mages need to stick together, after all." Melisandria said, trying to get him to smile.
"How can I fight for the freedom of mages, when I am the example of the worst that freedom brings?" Anders asked her, searching for answers.
"Mages are dangerous, Anders. That's why this has been so hard, for both of us." Melisandria said, putting a hand to his cheek. "Make yourself the proof that they can control their power."
Anders looked into her eyes, not sure what to do. "I don't know how." he said and put a hand to hers. "How can I even trust myself to heal anymore? What if that... creature of vengeance turns on a patient? Will he.. will I... resist? Or will I loose his fury?"
"Nothing will happen, Anders. The patients that come in here, they are not Templars, but people who truly need your help. Healing is something that you do best, never forget that." Melisandria replied.
Nodding, Anders asked, "Did you... find anything on Ser Alrik? Or was the "Tranquil Solution" just another of my delusions?"
"Yes, actually. It looks like the "Tranquil Solution" began and ended with Ser Alrik." Melisandria replied as she pulled the papers from her pack.
"Let me see that!" he said, taking the papers. "The Divine... rejected the idea. Meredith rejected the idea! This was... not what I expected. Perhaps I should try talking to the grand cleric. Maybe she's more reasonable than I thought."
With that, he walked away, talking to himself. Melisandria let him be and went home. When she walked inside, she took off her boots and set her staff near the front door. As she stretched and walked into the main room of the estate, she saw Fenris waiting by the fire.
"Fenris?" Melisandria asked, startled by his presence there.
He turned and walked over to her. "I have been thinking of you." he said and came to a stop fairly close to Melisandria. "In fact," he continued, "I have been able to think of little else. Command me to go, and I shall."
"Please don't go, Fenris." Melisandria said. "There's no need."
Fenris pulled her in and kissed her, his arms wrapping around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. They kissed for a short while before Fenris lifted her up and held her against him as he carried her upstairs to her room. Closing the door behind them, Fenris let Melisandria stand as they began to disrobe each other. Melisandria unhooked Fenris' armor, throwing it to the floor as he pulled the string that held her dress together. As the dress fell to the floor, Fenris pulled Melisandria in and felt her warm breasts press against his chest. They continued to kiss, pulling the last few pieces of clothing off of each other as they made their way to the bed. Fenris pushed Melisandria down onto the bed, pinning her arms above her head with one hand as his other hand explored her body.
Fenris felt the smooth skin and curvature of Melisandria's body, which only aroused him more. Her hair had fallen out of its partial bun and pooled around her, the moonlight making the black of her hair look like obsidian. Fenris looked at Melisandria for a moment, silently asking for permission to enter her. She nodded and pulled him in for another kiss. Fenris hooked Melisandria's legs around his hips as he slid himself inside of her. Wincing, Melisandria felt the pain of her virginity being taken. She bit back a yell of pain and her eyes began to water. Fenris asked if she was alright, wiping the tears away. Melisandria nodded and began to moan as Fenris began to move his hips back and forth. They continued to kiss and as they made love to each other, Melisandria and Fenris both thought that they could never be happier.
As the night progressed, Melisandria and Fenris were so intoxicated by pleasure that they began to lose themselves to it. As Fenris continued to move his hips back and forth, memories began to flood back- memories he had long forgotten with the pain of receiving his marks. As he reached his climax, every memory he had ever lost came flooding back in an instant and when he had pulled out of Melisandria just in time, the memories all vanished as quickly as they came. Exhausted, Fenris fell to the bed beside Melisandria, the pain unbearable. Melisandria tried to use her magik to ease the pain, but when she managed to finally do enough to where he was relaxed, Melisandria passed out, falling against Fenris' chest. They were both exhausted and passed out for a couple of hours, laying naked together on Melisandria's bed.
After some time, Fenris awoke abruptly, the pain briefly resurfacing. He swung his legs out of the bed and put his head in his hands. When the pain subsided again, Fenris got up and began to get dressed again. He then stood by the fire, waiting for Melisandria to wake up. When she did finally wake, she looked to her left and saw that Fenris wasn't in bed any longer. She looked over at him standing by the fireplace and sat up.
"Was it that bad?" she asked, pulling the covers to her chest.
"I'm sorry, it's not... It was fine." Fenris said, then shook his head. "No, that is insufficient. It was better than anything I could have dreamed."
"Was it the pain?" Melisandria asked. "Your markings hurt still, don't they?"
"It's not that." Fenris said. "I began to remember my life before. Just flashes. It's too much, this is too fast. I cannot do this."
Melisandria looked away for a moment. "What did you remember that could have been so bad?"
"I've never remembered anything before the ritual." Fenris explained. "There were faces, words. For just a moment, I could recall all of it. Then it slipped away."
"We could work on that, Fenris. I can help you remember things, if you let me." Melisandria said. "Don't you want to get your memories back?"
"Perhaps you don't realize how upsetting this is, Mel." he replied, turning away from her. "I've never remembered anything and to have it all come back in a rush, only to lose it... I can't... I can't..."
He looked at her for a moment as she said, "But, Fenris... I love you... I want to help you; we can work through this."
"I'm sorry, I feel like such a fool." he said, his head bowing in shame and sadness. "All I wanted was to be happy, just for a little while. Forgive me..." He walked away, leaving the one person who has been there for him through everything, the one person who looked passed the markings and saw who he was as a person, the only person he had ever let himself fall in love with.
As Fenris walked away, leaving her there alone, Melisandria hurried to get her robe and underclothes on and ran downstairs and out into the square, searching for him. She looked everywhere, standing barefoot on the cold stone, but couldn't see him anywhere.
"Fenris!" she called out just as rain began to fall.
She stood there for a moment, calling out to him a few more times before falling to her knees, crying her eyes out when no answer came. Melisandria had fallen in love with Fenris, never having anyone ever accept her the way he had, and now he had rejected her. Orana, Bodahn, and Leandra came outside, searching for her. Leandra ran to her daughter and hugged her, asking what was wrong. But when Melisandria looked up at her, she could see the heart break in her eyes.
"Oh, my poor baby..." she said and helped her daughter up, taking her inside.
As they reentered the estate, Fenris- who had been standing nearby, hidden, when Melisandria came outside and called his name- felt his chest tighten and he turned away, his heart and head heavy. This was something he never thought he would ever do to her, someone he loved with all his heart, which he regretted the instant he walked away. When he returned to his own home, he went to his chambers and threw his armor against the walls and on the floor. He punched the wall, severely bruising his hand. Ignoring the pain, he slunk to his bed and buried his face in his hands. Never before had he ever cried, but the pain of leaving Melisandria was nearly too much to bear. Fenris cried silently into his hands, his heart aching for her. He had allowed himself to let someone close, fell in love with a mage that had proven herself as a good person with no darkness in her heart, who wants to help people, and took her virginity, though he did not yet know it. He had no idea he had taken something so precious from her and did not yet know the ramifications of his actions. He felt awful, but the damages were already done. Fenris had no idea what the future would hold now that he pushed away the one thing he cared most about.
A few days had passed and Melisandria was still in bed, her heart broken. No one could get her out of bed, not even Isabela. Hammer sat next to her every day, protecting her in this fragile state. When she finally got enough energy to get out of bed, she got up begrudgingly. She felt like changing things up a little bit, so she looked through her clothes. Pulling out a dark red tunic, a leather waist cincher, black leggings, a pair of black leather boots, and her favorite sleeveless cloak, Melisandria got dressed, tying the waist cincher over the cloak. She brushed her hair, then braided it.
Finished getting ready, Melisandria grabbed a pair of fingerless gloves and pulled them on as she went downstairs. Bodahn and Orana looked up and smiled in relief, glad to see her up and about.
"Glad to see you're better, Mistress." Orana said, offering her some breakfast.
"I'm not hungry, Orana, but thank you." Melisandria replied.
Orana nodded and stood aside as Melisandria walked out of the estate, her staff in hand. She wasn't sure where she was going, but she felt like she just needed to walk around, clear her head. She hooked her staff on her back, and wandered around Kirkwall, just walking. She wandered to the docks, stopping in a far corner of the docks, near where they had slain Senestra the Snake, the lady who Keran and Macha's family owed money to. A group of thugs were nearby, watching Melisandria stand by herself, gazing out over the harbor.
"Hey there, sweetheart, care to have some fun?" one of them said, the lot of them coming up to her.
She ignored them, unintentionally, too. She was off in her own little world, trying to figure things out in her head.
"Oi, I'm talking to you," the thug said, grabbing her arm, startling her.
"Let me go, creep." she demanded and pulled her arm free, starting to walk away.
"I don't think so," another said, grabbing both of her arms, pulling them behind her.
"No! Let me go!" she yelled.
Nearby, someone heard her yelling and ran to the Hanged Man to fetch Varric and Isabela. "Mistress Hawke is in trouble, Varric. She needs help!" the boy said.
Varric nodded, grabbed Isabela and they followed the boy to where Melisandria was being attacked. The thugs were trying to rape her, pulling at her clothes. Varric and Isabela watched as Melisandria broke free, only to have one of the thugs grab her braid, pulling her back. She cried out in pain and Isabela swore like the sailor she was.
"Mel, we're coming!" Isabela yelled, throwing a dagger right at them. The dagger sliced through Melisandria's braid, cutting Melisandria free. Not caring about her hair being cut, Melisandria grabbed her staff and threw a spirit bolt at the thugs. Varric, Isabela, and Melisandria fought off the thugs, only having to kill one or two of them. Melisandria cornered one of the thugs, the one who grabbed her initially.
"You will leave here immediately." she said, grabbing the dagger Isabela threw. "I never want to see you face or any of your idiot companions' faces in Kirkwall ever again. If I do, you're dead."
"You think we're scared of you?" the thug laughed.
Furious, she drew the dagger across the man's face, leaving a gash that ran the length of his face. The man screamed in pain.
"You still think I'm joking?" Melisandria demanded. "Leave now and never return."
The thug squirmed out of her reach and ran off, a trail of blood following him. Melisandria wiped the blade of the dagger on her cloak and handed it back to Isabela.
"Thank you, Isabela, Varric. I don't know what I would have done without you." she said.
"Hawke, what were you thinking coming here alone?" Varric asked. "You know how dangerous it is out here, especially for beautiful young woman."
Melisandria felt tears in her eyes. "I don't know, I just needed to think..." she said, putting her face in her hands.
Isabela pulled her into a hug, letting her cry as she glared at Varric. "Hush now, little Hawke." she said, trying to comfort her.
"I don't know what went wrong, Isabela." Melisandria said into her shoulder. "I gave him everything and he left me..."
"Fenris?" Isabela asked. "What exactly happened between you two?"
Melisandria looked up. "I gave him my innocence, Isabela. That night... I gave it to him and he left me..."
Isabela's eyes widened in shock. "You gave up your virginity to him and he left you?"
Melisandria nodded.
"Hawke, I'm not sure what to say here, I have no experience in this matter, but I'm sorry." Varric said.
Hawke managed a smile, but it soon faded. She was bleeding on her side. "I need to go see Anders." She said as she tried to hide it.
Isabela knew better and offered to help her down to Darktown and Varric went to go make sure that the thugs were really gone. Isabela helped Melisandria down to the clinic, getting there fairly quickly. Anders looked up and saw them come in, then saw the blood dripping from Melisandria. Her hair was shorter, so he didn't recognize her. Melisandria sank to her knees, passing out and dragged Isabela down with her.
"Little help here?" Isabela asked.
Anders hurried over and helped her take Melisandria to a cot. As they laid her down, Melisandria's head fell to the side, her hair falling away from her face.
"Mel!" Anders said in surprise. "What happened, Isabela?"
"From what Varric and I saw, Mel was out by herself at the docks and some thugs came up to her, grabbing her and tried to rape her. One of Varric's informants came to get us. When we got there, she was surrounded. She managed to break free for a moment, but one of them grabbed her hair, so I threw a dagger and it cut through her hair, letting her free. I didn't even see her get injured, but there were a lot of thugs, so I wouldn't be surprised."
Anders nodded. "She's unconscious, so it'll take some time. I'll take a look at her injury. Thank you for bringing her here."
Isabela nodded and left, deciding to go pay Fenris a visit. She walked through the streets of Darktown, up through Lowtown, and up into Hightown. She was furious that the one person she could call her best friend had been hurt so badly. She burst through the front door and marched up the stairs to the study, where she found Fenris sulking near the fireplace.
"How dare you, elf." she yelled, smacking Fenris across the cheek.
"What?" Fenris asked, his cheek pulsating.
"How dare you do that to her?" Isabela asked. "Mel told me what happened between you two. How could you be so heartless?"
Fenris' face fell and the pain in his cheek no longer bothered him. "I thought it best..."
"How could you be that stupid? You took her virginity, Fenris, did you know that?"
Fenris shook his head. "I had no idea." Now he felt even worse.
"Fenris, that poor girl is hurt. Bad. She walked into the most dangerous part of the docks and almost got raped. Varric and I had to come help her when one of his informants came to get us. She cut one her assailants' face as a warning and told them never to come back or she'd kill them." Isabela told him. "Does that sound like the sweet mage we all know and love? Does that sound like the Mel who always keeps her cool, tries to find the most diplomatic solution to every problem?"
Fenris looked up at her, the pain of leaving her clear in his eyes. "I left to protect her. I started to remember things when we... I just didn't want to risk her getting hurt..."
Isabela rolled her eyes. "Fenris, you know that girl loves you. Yet, in trying to protect her from being hurt, you do the worst possible things: take her virginity and break her heart."
Fenris didn't know what to say. Isabela sighed. "Don't ever hurt her again." she said and left.
Fenris sat there feeling even worse than before. He stared at the fire, thinking things over. He grabbed a bottle of wine and sat there, drinking straight from the bottle as he mulled things over in his head.
Meanwhile, back in the clinic, Anders was working on Melisandria's wounds. She had been stabbed pretty deep into her right side, but Anders removed her waist cincher and moved the tunic out of the way to clean the wound. He tried to be gentle, but he was able to patch her up. He sat there and waited for Melisandria to wake up. After about an hour, Melisandria stirred, sitting up and wincing.
"Easy, Mel." Anders said.
"What happened? Last I remember I was at the docks." she said, a hand at her side.
"Isabela brought you in. You were stabbed in the side when you fought off the thugs who attacked you. You passed out right as you got here." he explained.
"How long have I been out?" Melisandria asked.
"Only about an hour or so." Anders said, handing her some water. "You need to be more careful, Mel."
"Anders, I've told you before, don't worry so much." Melisandria said, managing a smile.
"Mel, you have to be careful, especially around the docks. What if something worse had happened to you? I don't know what I would have done."
"Anders, you've been so good to me. Thank you for everything." Melisandria said.
Varric came in with a grim look on his face. "Hawke, I have some bad news."
"What is it Varric?" she said, trying to stand.
"You may want to stay seated, Hawke. It's about Carver." he said, handing her a letter. "I got this at the Hanged Man, thought you should see it."
Melisandria took the letter and saw that it was addressed to her, regarding Carver. As she read it, her heart sank:
"To the Hawke family,
In regards to Carver Malcolm Hawke:
I am not pleased to inform you that Carver did not survive the Joining.
He was buried here in Fereldan with honors,
having requested to be buried alongside his comrades at Ostagar.
Enclosed is a dagger he wished to be delivered to you.
I am truly sorry for you loss; we did what we could to save Carver.
My condolences to you and your family.
~Ser Stroud of the Grey Wardens"
"Carver..." she said, tears spilling from her eyes. "I'm so sorry..."
Anders put a hand on her knee, but Melisandria fell into his shoulder, sobbing. Anders was surprised, but he pulled her into his arms and held her. Varric said he was going to take the letter to Leandra and left the two alone in the clinic. Anders sat there for a while, letting Melisandria cry into his robes.
"Mel, I am so sorry. I thought that Carver would be able to survive the Joining." he said when she seemed to calm down a bit.
"I don't understand what happened... Carver was so strong... he should have been able to survive something like that..." she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.
Anders tucked her hair behind her ear. "I thought he'd be ok, but I guess I was wrong."
"What am I going to do with Mother? She's going to be so broken hearted." Melisandria said.
"You should go home, Melisandria. Be with your mother; she's going to need you." Anders said.
Melisandria put her hand on his cheek and pressed her forehead against his. "Thank you, Anders. For everything." She kissed his forehead and left.
Anders could still feel the warmth of her kiss on his forehead and the warmth of her breath on his face. He sighed, not sure how things would play out.
It had been weeks since the Hawke family got word of Carver. Melisandria and Leandra were both heartbroken at the loss of yet another of the Hawke family. Leandra was going to see Gamlen one day, but she never showed. Melisandria was reading upstairs when she heard Gamlen yelling.
"What's the matter, Uncle?" she asked.
"Where's your mother? Is she feeling alright?" he asked.
"Yes, I'm sure that she's alright. What's this about?"
"Your mother didn't show up for our weekly visit. Is she ill? She is here, isn't she?" he demanded.
"No, Gamlen, we haven't see her all day." Bodahn said.
"Where could she be?" Gamlen wondered.
"With her suitor, perhaps?" Bodahn suggested.
"Suitor? Leandra never mentioned a suitor." Gamlen scoffed.
"Well, those lilies arrived for her this morning." Bodahn said, pointing to the side table with a vase of white lilies.
"Wait, white lilies... that sounds familiar; I know something about that." Melisandria began.
"Well, don't keep me waiting. What is it?" Gamlen demanded.
"There's a killer in Kirkwall who sends his victims white lilies before he takes them." Melisandria explained, a look of worry on her face. "He's murdered several women already. I know someone who can help: Gascard Du Puis."
"No, you're wrong. Leandra is fine." Gamlen said in denial.
"Ignoring the facts doesn't change them, Uncle." Melisandria retorted.
"But you don't know for sure if she's in trouble. Maybe... maybe Leandra took another path to my house. I could have just missed her. I'm going back to Lowtown." Gamlen said and left in a hurry.
Bodahn suggested that Melisandria go and look for her mother, help Gamlen find her. Thankfully, Melisandria was fairly ready to go, having dressed in a blue tunic, brown leggings, and black boots. She grabbed her sleeveless cloak and staff. She hurried out, grabbing her pack from by the front door. She was hesitant, but she headed straight to Fenris' mansion. She opened the door and stepped into the main room.
"Fenris, are you home? I need your help." she called.
Fenris came out of the study and saw Melisandria standing there. "What is it, Melisandria?"
"My mother is missing and she received white lilies like those other women when we helped that templar Emeric with the murder case." she explained. "I wouldn't have come if I didn't really need your help."
Fenris felt his chest tighten, knowing how hard this must be for her. "I understand. Let me grab a few things."
"Actually, can you meet me at Anders' clinic? I'm going to ask Varric for his help, then Anders as well. I need to find Gascard Du Puis, and as I recall he said he'd be in Darktown." Melisandria said.
Fenris nodded and watched as Melisandria left, a pained and worried look on her face. He got his things together, then headed down to the clinic.
Meanwhile, Melisandria went to the Hanged Man to ask Varric for his help. Varric agreed and they hurried to the clinic. Fenris was already there and was having a glaring match with Anders. Anders was relieved to see her and Varric walk in.
"Mel, what's going on? Out of the middle of nowhere, this elf shows up in my clinic and doesn't say why he's here other than you asked him to meet you here." Anders asked, frustrated with Fenris.
"My mother is missing, Anders. She got white lilies this morning and hasn't been seen all day. I wanted you, Fenris, and Varric to help me find her and make sure she is OK."
"White lilies? Oh, Maker, Mel, I'm so sorry." Anders said, remembering what happened with Emeric.
"I need to find Gascard Du Puis and he's somewhere here in Darktown. Will you help me?" Melisandria asked.
Anders nodded. "Of course, it's the least I could do for you."
"Then let's not waste more time." Fenris said.
Melisandria nodded and they went to search for Gascard. Finding him, Melisandria called out to him and came to a stop next to him.
"Hawke," he said in surprise, "What are you doing here?"
"Gascard, my mother received flowers this morning. White lilies..." Melisandria said. "I need your help to find the killer, to find my mother before it's too late."
"Do you remember Alessa? As I predicted, he took her not long after you found us." Gascard explained, leaning on a nearby railing. "I have enough of her blood for one ritual to track them and it will lead us straight to the killer."
"Do it, please. Use the blood. I need to find my mother. Maybe it won't be too late for Alessa if we get there soon enough." Melisandria said, though if her mother really is the next victim then the chances of Alessa still being alive were very slim.
"Stand back; if there is anything of Alessa left in this world, this ritual will find her." Gascard said, pulling a dagger from his belt, slicing his hand.
Something came over him, levitating him before the glow around him burst, throwing him to the ground. Melisandria helped him to his feet and when he could walk, he led the way to the foundry where they had found the bag of bones and Ninette's wedding ring.
"You've been here before, haven't you?" Varric asked Melisandria.
"This is where Emeric's investigation led. There was someone here, but he ran off and we were attacked by shades. I found bits of the missing women, as well as the wedding ring of one of the victims, Ninette. Her husband had hired me to try and find her, bring her back home." Melisandria said.
"I wonder if we'll find something other than a bag of bones this time." Anders said.
"Mother must be here somewhere. We need to look around." Melisandria said as they progressed forward.
As they made their way through the halls of the foundry, they were attacked by shades and abominations. They fought their way into a large room, and when they were all gone, Melisandria saw someone to her left.
"Mother!" she cried out, running to the woman who was laying on a wooden table. She turned the woman onto her back and saw that it wasn't her mother. "Alessa!" She knew that they would be too late, but she had hoped.
Shaking her head, she left Alessa's corpse and went on ahead of the others as they followed closely behind. After a short while, Melisandria stopped, seeing something shiny on the ground. "I recognize this locket; it belonged to Mother. She wouldn't willingly part with it; it was a gift to her from my grandmother." she said and knew that they were getting close.
They moved forward down a large set of stairs, only to be met by more shades and abominations. When they were gone, Melisandria looked around at what looked like a shrine filled with furniture and a large portrait of a woman was hung above the fireplace.
"What is this?" she asked in disbelief at the portrait. "The woman in the painting, she... she almost l-looks like Mother."
"A shrine dedicated to a wife? A sister?" Anders suggested.
Anders knew the look that Melisandria had on her face. It was the look she had when Carver went with the Wardens, when Fenris had left her, when she had gotten news of Carver's death. He watched her walk away as she insisted on finding her mother.
They continued forward, going down another set of stairs and into a larger room where a man stood in front of someone sitting in a chair. Melisandria recognized his robes- he was the one who ran from the foundry when they first found the bones.
"I was wondering when you would show up." he said. "Leandra was so sure that you would come for her."
"You bastard, I am going to kill you!" Melisandria said, feeling the rage and pain and fear well up inside of her.
"I was afraid you might say that." Quentin said.
Gascard stepped forward. "Quentin!"
"Gascard! So you've reached me after all these years?" Quentin said, recognizing him. "I figured you gave up."
"You lying dirt bag!" Melisandria said, backing away from Gascard. "You knew his name this whole time? Why didn't you tell me his name was Quentin?"
"I had other things on my mind." he said. "You promised you would teach me, Quentin; you're going to deliver on that promise."
Melisandria couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I promised to teach you," Quentin said. "But I didn't promise to teach you everything."
Melisandria looked at Gascard. "I trusted you, Du Puis, gave you the benefit of the doubt. I knew that I should have trust my instincts instead of listening to what my mind told me. You knew all along and you let him do this? You are as much at fault for what happened to those women, to my mother. You'll pay for this deception."
"I didn't deceive you totally. The plan was always to kill Quentin and we can still work together. Once he's dead, you'll have your mother back and his research and writings will be mine."
Melisandria shook her head, her anger getting so intense that she was afraid that she would become an abomination.
"I'm sorry, Gascard," Quentin began to say. "When my wife died, I lost all hope. I wasn't able to be the mentor you deserved." He looked at Gascard. "But now that my work is finished, I can teach as you as I always meant to. Come back to me, Gascard."
"You'll let me be part of this? You'll teach me the secrets of necromancy?" Gascard began to say, but a bolt shot through his throat. Varric came up and pulled the bolt out of Gascard's throat.
"What?" he said, shrugging when Melisandria looked at him. "You were going to do that, right?"
Quentin looked back at the person sitting in the chair. "You will never understand my purpose. Your mother was chosen because she was special, and now she is part of something greater."
"Spare me the demented rambling. Where is she?" Melisandria demanded, drawing her staff from its sheath with one hand and pulling out Carver's dagger with the other.
"She is here, she is waiting for you." Quentin replied, looking behind him. "I have done the impossible. I have touched the face of the Maker and lived."
Melisandria shook her head in disbelief, her anger fading and her fear for her mother growing.
"Do you know what the strongest force in the universe is?" Quentin said. "Love. I pieced her together from memory. I found her eyes, her skin, her delicate fingers, and finally her face. Oh, this beautiful face! I searched far and wide to find you again, beloved, and no force on this earth will part us! "
The person in the chair stood, revealing that is was a woman, but when the woman turned around, Melisandria's heart dropped. "Mother, no!"
The woman was Leandra, but she looked like she was in pieces, stitched together like a doll. Melisandria felt tears stinging her eyes and she felt her anger well up again. Not caring if she became an abomination, she rushed at Quentin, only to be stopped by dozens of shades and abominations, as well as desire demons that had possessed the spirits of Leandra, Ninette, and Alessa, and corpses. Having no other choice, Melisandria turned and focused her anger into her magik, not letting it consume her but instead channel it into energy that she used against her enemies. She fought and fought, scaring Varric, Fenris, and Anders with her attacks. They knew she was angry, but when the enemies were all defeated save Quentin, they saw a whole new and terrifying side of her that not even she knew she had.
Turning to where Quentin had teleported himself, Melisandria threw Carver's dagger at him, hitting him square in the middle of his deranged face. The man who had killed some many women and had practically killed her mother was in turn killed by Melisandria and Carver by extension of his dagger, avenging their mother. Melisandria pulled the dagger from the bastard's skull and turned to see that Leandra had stumbled over to her. As she fell, Melisandria called to her as she caught her in her arms, kneeling on the ground as she cradled her dying mother in her arms.
"There's nothing I can do," Anders said. "His magik was the only thing keeping her alive."
"I can't let her die like this!" Melisandria said. She summoned all of her spare magikal energy and used the strongest healing spell she knew, pushing the spell into Leandra's body but to no avail. She somehow ended up reopening the wound that Anders had healed a few weeks earlier. Ignoring the blood gushing out of her side, Melisandria looked at her mother, tears falling onto her tortured face.
"I knew you would come." Leandra managed to say.
"Mother, I'm sorry! I tried to find you!" Melisandria said.
"Shh." Leandra said. "Don't fret, darling. That man would have kept me trapped in here, but now I am free." Leandra reached up to her face with great difficulty. "I never told you how much I liked your hair this way. You are so beautiful. Don't worry, Mel. I will get to see Bethany, Carver, and your father again. But you'll be all alone."
"I failed you, Mother. I'm so sorry. I failed Bethany, I failed Carver, and now I have failed you, too." Melisandria said through the sobs she was trying to hold back.
"My little girl has become so strong." Leandra said, managing a pained smile. "I love you. You've always made me so proud..."
And with those last words, Leandra took her last breath and the small light that had lingered in her eyes vanished. Melisandria laid her mother gently on the ground and stood. She stepped back to her companions and summoned a fire spell, pushing herself past her limits and engulfing her mother in flames. She then summoned an ice spell, one that is effective with fire spells, and tossed it into the flames. Melisandria stood there, watching her mother's body burn as her companions stood there helpless. They stood there until the flames were dead and as the smoke cleared, they saw a pile of crystalized ashes where Leandra's body had been. Melisandria's combinations of the two spells created a unique pairing that resulted in the hot ashes of Leandra turning into tiny ice crystals that shined as bright as her smile had in life. Then, summoning a wind spell, she directed the wind to pick up the ashes and fly out a nearby window and out towards the sea.
"Hawke..." Varric said, putting a hand on her arm.
"Let's get out of here." Melisandria said, her voice hurt, heartbroken, angry, and icy and the tears stinging her eyes. "I need to tell Gamlen that Mother is gone."
Melisandria turned and began to walk away, but Anders noticed blood dripping behind her. He wasn't sure if it was her own or if it was the blood of the abominations and other dark creatures they had just killed. They were all covered in their blood. He was just about to say something to her, but Fenris glared at Anders because of the way he was looking at her, only to receive a smirk in return. Varric could feel the tension and pushed them in separate directions, trying to minimize any potential fighting. They then walked in silence and soon enough, were back in Lowtown and went their separate ways. Fenris followed close behind Melisandria, only taking a different path when he knew she made it home safely before he himself went home.
Melisandria tried to heal the wound enough to hide it from her uncle and she found Gamlen back at her estate, waiting for her. She sat in the chair closest to the fireplace in the library as Gamlen came down from the upper library floor.
"Did you find her?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"She's dead, Uncle, murdered." Melisandria said, trying to be strong for her last remaining relative.
Gamlen's face fell. "You were right about the flowers, about everything. I-I can't believe she's gone."
"I'm sorry, Uncle. I know it hurts, but Mother wouldn't want us to dwell on it." Melisandria replied.
"I'm not you." Gamlen retorted. "I can't just shove my grief into a corner and forget it."
Standing, Melisandria looked at her uncle with tears in her eyes. "Is that what you think I am doing? I am trying to be strong for the both of us, like Mother would have wanted. You and I are the only family we have left and I can't say that I am proud of that. I have lost my father, my sister, my brother, and now my mother, too. You may have some idea what that's like from losing your mother and father and your sister, but you weren't there, Gamlen. You didn't see what that monster did to my mother!" she retorted right back at him. "I tried to save her, I tried with every ounce of magik that I could muster and used the strongest healing spell I had to try and save her, but she was already far beyond saving. I held her in my arms, listening to her last words. I burned her body and sent her ashes to the sea because I knew that she loved the sea and I knew that you couldn't handle the sight of her if you saw what that bastard did to her."
Taken aback, Gamlen suddenly felt ashamed of himself. "W-Why her? Why Leandra?"
"Would it make you feel better if I told why?" Melisandria asked.
Gamlen shook his head. "No, it wouldn't. Did you at least make him pay?"
"I killed him with no mercy. I made him pay dearly for what he did to her." Melisandria told him.
"Good, I hope it hurt." he replied. "You've had a long day, so I'll leave you to yourself. Take care, my dear." Then he left, never thinking to return to the estate again.
Fighting back her tears, Melisandria couldn't bear it anymore. She ran up to her room, closing the door and let herself cry. She cried harder than the night that Fenris had left her, sobbing into her hands. She felt as if she could fill the entire harbor with the tears she was shedding. A knock came from the door and Fenris walked in.
"I'm not sure what to say, but I am here if you need me." he said and came to sit on the bed.
"Is it my fault, Fenris? Is there something that I could have done differently that would have kept Mother alive?" she asked, searching his eyes for answers. When he was silent, she looked away saying, "Say something... Anything..."
"I hear they say death is only a journey." Fenris said.
"I suppose they also say that you return to the Maker's side when you die." Melisandria said.
"I have heard that as well," Fenris replied. "Though I do not think that filling this time with empty talk is going to help much."
Knowing he was right, Melisandria put her hands to her face and sighed. She didn't know what to do, what to say, or how she was going to get through this. Gamlen was her only family left now, but she knew he blamed her for Leandra's death even if he didn't say it. Fenris sat next to her for a while, silent. He looked at her, seeing that she was holding back her tears, her sorrow, keeping it bottled up inside. He moved his hand to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear, not realizing that he was doing it. Melisandria looked at him, her face full of pain and loss. Fenris felt his heart get heavy at the sight of her looking like that.
"I should go." he said, starting to stand.
Melisandria grabbed his hand for a moment, stopping him. "Fenris... whatever has happened between us... I'm glad that I still have you in my life... I need you..."
Fenris squeezed her hand. "I will always be here for you." he said. "Would you like me to stay?"
He almost sounded hopeful, but Melisandria shook her head. "It's alright, Fenris. I appreciate you coming, but you don't have to stay."
Fenris nodded and left. Melisandria followed him to the balcony and watched as he went down the stairs and left the estate, never looking back. Melisandria's heart ached, but she couldn't cry the pain out. Something was keeping her from crying, from relieving herself of everything that was bottled up inside of her. She felt her head pounding, so she went to lay down and try to get some sleep. She lay in bed, staring at the fabric of her canopy. She didn't know how long she stared at the fabric, but she somehow managed to fall asleep.