Seeker
The children were thirteen when Leora woke during the night, grasping instinctively for her daggers as she always did when suddenly woken. After all these years, she was still a rogue at heart. Anders- who had suffered insomnia recently and was thus still awake- felt her move and frowned at her.
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
"I don't know," she whispered. "Maybe just a dream. But I could have sworn I heard something."
They lapsed into silence and listened carefully, but only the normal sounds of the night could be heard. Then…
Light, scuffling footsteps were outside their door.
Anders reached for his staff and eased it into position to fire a fireball at the intruder, while his wife prepared to throw the dagger she held.
A timid knock on the door.
"Father?" came Leandra's quavering voice, and both the fugitives relaxed.
"Come in," Anders called, as he and Leora hurriedly stuffed their weapons out of sight. No need to worry the girl by letting her know that her parents still woke up with weapons in their hands. She might think something was wrong.
The door opened and a tear stained face appeared around it.
"Another nightmare?" Anders asked, pulling her into his arms and hugging her tight. Leandra clutched at him for dear life as she nodded.
"It was horrible. There was a demon and…"
"Hush," he whispered, smoothing her hair. "Don't dwell on it. It was just a dream."
Her sniffling subsided as she fell asleep against her father's chest and her parents exchanged worried looks.
XX
"She's not going to Tevinter," Leora said flatly.
"I don't like it either, love, but…"
"You know what Fenris said! Blood magic is everywhere in Tevinter!"
"Fenris? He saw blood magic everywhere. I'm surprised he and Meredith didn't get along better. They were equally paranoid."
"We've faced Magisters, Anders. They all used it. They all summoned demons. I will not let my daughter grow up learning to summon demons."
"But her nightmares… Faenryel needed to go to Tevinter."
"The answer is no, that that's final."
Leora stormed out the house and Anders sighed as he sank down in a chair. He hated the thought of sending Leandra to Tevinter, but could think of no other way to help her.
XX
Leora was mad enough as she left the house that she didn't notice the woman standing outside.
"Champion?" the woman inquired with what sounded like an Orlesian or maybe Antivan accent, cutting through her thoughts.
It took a single glance to know that this woman was not a patient. She wore armour, rare enough in and of itself considering their clients, but worse, she wore Chantry armour.
Leora dropped into a crouch instantly, daggers in hand.
"No need to fear, Champion, I mean you no harm," the woman said, raising her hands slightly to placate her. Leora didn't drop her guard, still glaring at her suspiciously.
"I am Cassandra Pentaghast," she introduced herself. "I am a Seeker of the Chantry, and we need your help."
Her statement was greeted only by hostile silence. She should have expected no more, she thought with a sigh. The Champion had been a fugitive for thirteen years now. In fact, she was lucky not to have been attacked on sight.
"I know you live with Anders, but I am not here for your lover. I promise you I will not touch him."
"How do you know?" she asked warily, speaking for the first time.
"Your friend Varric told us," Cassandra said. "He has told us your story, how you rose to power in Kirkwall."
"Oh, really? And why is that?"
"Because I interrogated him."
The Champion glared at her.
"He is safe," Cassandra hurried to add. "He was released unharmed." She laughed harshly, unbelieving.
"So, Seeker, what is it that you need me to help you with? Not promising anything, mind you," the Champion asked, sarcastically. "That you interrogated my friend for it means it's bad." The way she said interrogated clearly showed she meant torture.
"Open war is threatening to break out. The Templars have rebelled now-"
"Really? So not only have you lost your mages, but your Templars too? Hah!" The Champion laughed. "Hear that, Anders? They lost their oppressors!"
"Poetic, isn't it?" the apostate said from the doorway with a wide grin. He approached his wife and wrapped an arm around her waist. Their argument had been forgotten it seemed, for now at least. Cassandra took a deep breath.
"We need your help to contain war, Champion. The mages respect you. They'll listen to you."
"You want them to stop fighting so you can contain them again," Anders said flatly.
"No. We don't want this world torn apart. That is all."
"Good luck with that," the Champion said. "Somehow, I don't feel like helping you. I wonder why?" With that last sarcastic comment, she turned and headed into the house. But before the door shut behind her, Cassandra heard something that made her jerk her head about in surprise.
"Mother, who is that? Why isn't she coming in? Has Father healed her outside?"
"She doesn't need our help," the Champion replied.
"A child?" Cassandra asked, surprised.
"Yes," the Champion said, turning to face her again. "And between her and her brother, I have enough war as it is." She shut the door in her face.
"Two children?" Cassandra asked the closed door in astonishment.
XX
Anders was already packing, and had set the confused children to collecting their belongings.
"Why, Father?" Leandra asked.
"It's something to do with that lady, isn't it?" Carver asked.
He didn't answer either.
"Mother! Why are we leaving?" Leandra asked as soon as Leora entered.
"Pack your things," she said shortly, and headed into her room.
The twins stared after her.
"Something's going on," Carver said.
"What?" Leandra asked, but he had no answer.
XX
As soon as they were packed, they left. It was still early in the day, and there was plenty of daylight to burn. Their forced pace left all four tired- Leora and Anders hadn't travelled like this in years- but despite the children's complaints and their own sore feet they pressed on.
They had no specific goal- their only goal was 'away!'
"The Free Marches are too dangerous," Leora said. "We have to leave. Perhaps go to Ferelden, Antiva or Orlais."
"Or Tevinter," Anders suggested gingerly.
"Or Tevinter," she sighed heavily. It was a mark of how bad the situation was that she was willing to even consider it.
"Mother, what's going on?" Carver asked when they were resting. She looked at Anders, who nodded.
"I'd hoped to tell you this later, but we have no choice. Your father and I… we told you that the Chantry in Kirkwall was destroyed which prompted the other Circle of Magi to rebel."
Both children nodded.
"Your father and I were the ones who destroyed it."
They gasped in shock.
"You destroyed a whole building?" Leandra asked. Carver had a wider idea of what destroying the Chantry meant.
"You nearly started a war," he said quietly. Leora heaved a heavy sigh and gripped Anders' hand tightly.
"Yes," she admitted. "But not intentionally. The Circle is a terrible injustice, and the Templars were oppressing them, turning mages Tranquil for nothing. We were defending the rights of mages, and other Circles followed."
She fell silent, overcome with emotion. Anders gripped her hand tightly for comfort and the children stared at their parents, unsure what to think.
"We had no choice but to fight," he said. "There was no compromise."
"Why not?" Carver asked.
"The Knight-Commander… she was insane. We offered compromise but she refused to hear us. We wanted to end it peacefully. I'm not saying that we are completely innocent- far from it-" Mother's eyes were haunted as she spoke- "I'm just saying that we did what we had to. Do I regret what I did? Yes. But it is done, and there is no point aggravating old wounds."
Leandra was staring at Mother and Father as if she'd never seen them before, but Carver understood.
"If you offered to deal and she refused, then you aren't entirely at fault," he said slowly.
"You have an old soul, Carver," Mother said. "I only wish it brings you peace rather than heartbreak."
XX
Leandra walked alone after the story was told, and didn't spend much time with Mother or Father. Her magic lessons were the only real interactions she had with Father now, and she was silent at mealtimes.
Carver had new respect for his parents. He admired the strength of their convictions, and wished he had a cause he was passionate enough about to sacrifice his whole life for it. When he told Father this, Father just stared at the ground.
"No, you don't," he said. "When something swallows you so completely you lose sight of all else…" he gazed at Mother. "No path is darker than when your eyes are shut."
He had thought Flemeth was talking to Merrill at the time. He now saw he'd been wrong.