Ander's watches Ilaria, his head resting in her lap, as she tells another story about her adventures with the Darke Days Faire. She does her best to keep the storytelling to a minimum since it makes the templars shifty but Neria is persistent. Neria has become the little sister to their little group: Anders, Ilaria, Neria, Jowan and Deylan Amell. Everyone dotes on her and protects her. She's sitting at Ilaria's feet now, eyes bright and smiling. Jowan is sitting in a chair nearby, occasionally asking questions. Deylan, ever serious, is also sitting nearby but with a book in his lap, pretending not to listen. This is the closest to family Anders has gotten in a long time, not that he would admit that, of course. The templars would just find a way to take it from him like they did everything else.
Ilaria drew them together. Jowan and Neria had been friends for years so it was hardly surprising when Jowan just became an extension of Ilaria's friendship with Neria. And then Ilaria had somehow managed to get Deylan mashed into their little circle of mischief makers. Anders wondered if she'd befriended him with the hopes that he could get them out of tight places, which he consistently seemed to do. His level calm set the templars at ease and when hands were caught in the pot, so to speak, he was able to diplomatically resolve any disputes before they went any further. It was generally Anders getting them into those hot spots in the first place.
The laughter of his friends drew him from his thoughts and he wondered what he missed. Even Deylan was chuckling into his book. Ilaria's warm laugh flooded him with warmth quickly followed by a pang of guilt. He wondered what she would think of his carefully laid plans. He'd thought about asking her but it really wouldn't be fair to bring that kind of trouble on her. They'd probably suspect her involvement as it is. No, it was best that she didn't know anything about it.
"Did he ever take them again?" Neria asked.
Ilaria shook her head, a smile playing over her lips. "No. The best part was that he truly believed that nonsense I fed him about them being flammable. It took over a month for his eyebrows to grow back in."
Everyone began chuckling again until they heard the shifting plates of templar armor. Anders looked up. "Don't worry. It's just Cullen. All we need to do is begin loudly talking about the quality of Ilaria's breasts or Neria's full lips, and he'll turn an alarming shade of red before trying to ignore everything we're saying for the rest of the night." He noticed that, not only was Cullen that alarming shade of red, but so was Neria.
Ilaria slapped him playfully on the top of the head. "I'll thank you to not speak of my breasts. If female bodies have to be the topic of discussion, I'm sure you've got plenty to share on that little brunette you've been seeing. What was her name again?"
"Ow... and Sophie. And a gentleman never kisses and tells."
This brought another ripple of laughter from Ilaria. "And since when are you a gentleman?"
Anders gave her a cheeky grin. "My dear lady, your good breeding must be rubbing off on me."
"My good breeding... do I look like a horse to you?" she bantered, mussing his hair.
"Hey, now!" Anders jumped up, smoothing his rumpled hair as he rose.
Ilaria shook her head, a rueful grin on her face. "Well, Neria, my dove, I hope your want for stories is satisfied for tonight. I'm going to bed." She rose, stretching. "Are you headed to bed yet?"
Neria gave her a sweet smile. "No, Jowan promised to show me where he hid the cookies in the kitchen before bed."
"Shh..." Jowan tossed a pillow in her direction.
"I'll walk you up," Anders said.
She poked him in the ribs. "Only so long as you don't plan on staying."
He sighed dramatically. "Ah, my unrequited love. Why must you be such a cruel, cruel woman?"
She gave him a gentle shove. "Get marching, lover boy." Giving Neria a kiss on the cheek she told the others good night, Anders echoing her.
After several months of flirting and teasing, he had given up on the idea that Ilaria was going to let him into her bed without more of a commitment than he was willing to give. He had found himself surprisingly content with her friendship since then.
The two of them headed toward the door. He shook his head when Ilaria spoke, her voice full of the open kindness he was so charmed by. "Good night, Cullen."
The templar, finally recovering from his earlier blush, pinked again. "Oh, ah, good night, Ilaria." Anders couldn't help but smirk at the templar as he looped his arm around Ilaria's waist as they exited the room.
Deylan watched Ilaria's face as she was told about Ander's disappearance. This would be his sixth escape from the tower. He'd somehow managed to slip out on a boat that had brought a large store of goods to Kinloch Hold. Her vivid blue green eyes dropped to the floor in disappointment. He wondered briefly if she might cry. Instead, she weakly smiled and mumbled something about how she'd expected he might do this eventually before excusing herself and leaving the room.
He'd known Anders since he'd come to the Circle several years before and he'd never seen him build any sort of relationship like he did with Ilaria. Her willing acceptance made it hard not to like her. Anders had been mentoring Ilaria for over a year now, spending most of the day in one another's company. Deylan knew they didn't spend all their time actually working. In fact, he came across them one day at the top of the tower in a small, open room just off the aviary. They were sitting on the floor, back to back. Ilaria was creating small smoke birds and sending them flying around the room while Anders read to her out of some appallingly awful romance novel. Other times he'd catch them in a staring contest or playing cards. Once, he came into the library to find Ilaria raging at Anders for drawing in the margins of the books. Something about yes it was very funny that the giant cat was eating the templars but why couldn't that be drawn on parchment and it didn't matter that he'd done that years ago because she'd just seen him writing something vulgar inside one of the Chantry books last week. He felt a distinct lack of surprise over the next few days at Ilaria's despondence.
It was almost two months later when Anders was returned to the Circle. He was immediately carted off to the dungeon. Ilaria spent the first few weeks trying to convince, first Greagoir, and then whichever templar was on guard to let her in to see him. When that failed, Deylan was amused to discover that she'd made a small harness for one of the mousers in the tower, a large tabby Anders had called Mr. Wiggums. They'd tie small notes or treats to the cats belly and he'd toddle off to see Anders.
Over time, Irving convinced Ilaria to start training with Wynne, a senior enchanter who was also a great healer. Deylan noticed that Ilaria spent a great deal of her time helping Wynne with the younger apprentices. She seemed happy again, finding a purpose, but still a little lost somehow. She spent more time with Neria and Jowan, and Neria was often seen looping her arms around Ilaria's neck in comfort.
It was a full year before Knight-Commander Greagoir allowed Anders to be released from solitary confinement. Deylan, Neria and Jowan were quick on Ilaria's heels to see him. As they took in his haggard appearance, Anders gave them a cheeky grin.
"Missed me, did you?"
He was thin, pale and dirty. His hair was far longer than he normally kept it and full of tangles. A scruffy beard covered his chin and there were dark circles under his eyes. Neria stifled a sob, turning her face into Jowan's shoulder.
Anders grin faded and he rested his hands on Neria's thin shoulders, turning her to face him.
"I'm all right. You know, templar cooking is terrible and that's all they'd give me down there." She smiled weakly.
Ilaria square her shoulders, determined not to let Neria worry. "Ugh... you're filthy! Let's get you cleaned up. Neria, dove, maybe you and Jowan could head down to the kitchen and find something to fatten this scarecrow up. We can't let him stay like this... he'd frighten off all the girls," she winked.
Neria nodded, wiping her eyes, and headed off to complete her chore, Jowan in tow. The remaining three didn't speak much as they made their way up to Anders' chambers. Ilaria used her magic to fill the tub with steaming water while Deylan helped Anders undress. She tried to ignore the large, purple bruises exposed when his shirt came off. She waited in the hallway for Anders to wash up. He finished shortly before Neria and Jowan returned with a large platter of food.
The five friends chatted while Anders ate. Ilaria left briefly to find some scissors and a razor. She trimmed his hair and then beard before shaving off all the stubble for him. Noting how tired he was, she shooed everyone out shortly after to allow Anders to rest. She headed off to bed a short time later, unable to keep up the facade that she hadn't been horribly upset to see her best friend so damaged. She allowed herself a few moments of crying into her pillow before reminding herself that Anders was still alive and would recover.
She was almost asleep when a shadow entered her chamber. She touched her fingers to the glow stone on the table by her bed, casting the small room into soft light. Anders stood at her bedside, a look on his face that she couldn't quite explain but somehow understood. She scooted to the edge of the bed, pulling her covers open for him. He climbed and lay down beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist, resting his head below her chin. She put her arms around his shoulders, kissing the top of his head softly.
Anders took in her warmth, breathing in the sweet smell of lavender and vanilla on her nightgown or in her hair and tried not to think of the long stretches of dark loneliness behind him. Her soft kiss in his hair surprised him a little but the feeling was quickly lost in it's so nice to be warm and to feel touch again. The steady rhythm of her heartbeat and the soft breaths in and out drowned out the months of silence. He lay awake, afraid that he might wake and find that he'd been dreaming. It was her slender fingers running through his hair that finally soothed him to sleep. He promised himself that this was just a one-time only thing but, night after night, he found himself padding quietly down the hallway to her bed. She'd lift her blankets while he slid in and together they'd drift off to sleep. Neither of them ever spoke a word nor talked about it in daylight.