Thank you so much Eynla, GryphonFeather II, Morninglight, CouslandSpitFire and anesor for your awesome reviews! Special thanks to those of you who have put this fic in your favorites and those who are now following! :D
I also want to thank my lovely betas, CouslandSpitFire and Eynla for helping me out with this chapter! You girls rock!
Before I forget AGAIN, the name for my Hawke was suggested by a friend of mine, Callia/LadyDarksbane. I want to take the moment here to thank her so much for her help in this, because in my case, I always choose the same names for my Hawkes, and wanted something totally different! :D
My disclaimer as always: Bioware owns! :D
Chapter 9
"Velanna!" Anders yelled, still struggling to free himself. "It's Anders! Don't you remember me?"
Velanna was pointing her staff directly at Bethany and Varric. She gave no indication whatsoever that she had heard Anders.
Varric had Bianca out in front of him and was wearing his no-nonsense face. Bethany had placed her staff on the ground and was holding up her hands in front of her, palms facing Velanna and a pleading look in her eyes.
"We aren't going to hurt you!" Bethany exclaimed. "We just saved your life! Don't you remember you were attacked by dragonlings?"
"Silence!" Velanna screamed. She then turned at glanced at Anders. "What are you doing here, Anders? I thought you hated the Deep Roads!"
"I could ask you the same thing, but I'm afraid of getting burned, Velanna," Anders said. "I'm already a human tree…"
"Stop joking," Hawke hissed right next to him. "And stop giving her ideas!"
"Play along. I know her…or at least I hope I do," Anders whispered back.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Hawke asked in a low voice.
"You know very well what I'm doing in the Deep Roads, Anders! Your pathetic Warden-Commander made sure I would never find my sister, didn't she?" Velanna spat. "Well, I'll just continue to look!"
"My Warden-Commander?" Anders started saying, but Hawke elbowed him and he was instantly quiet.
"If you say anything else, Anders, I swear I'll hit you!" Hawke hissed into his ear. "You'll only make her angry!"
"She isn't angry now?" Anders whispered back. "Huh! I could have sworn she is!"
"Listen!" Varric said, putting down Bianca in front of him. Velanna regarded the dwarf suspiciously. "We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk…"
"You are one of the Children of the Stone. What are you doing with these shemlen?"
"I'm their friend," Varric said with a hint of a smile. "Why would you want to attack us if we just saved your life?"
Velanna lowered her staff a few inches, her blue eyes fixed on Varric. "I – I don't trust humans. I believed in one once. And she betrayed me!"
"How did she betray you?" Varric asked, genuinely interested.
Anders sighed heavily. "He shouldn't have asked that," he whispered to Hawke.
Velanna's brow furrowed angrily. "Because she killed the Architect! And the Architect was the only one who could take me to my sister! You ask too many questions!"
"I'm a storyteller," Varric grinned. "I'm inquisitive by nature."
"Velanna!" Anders called out. "Do you truly believe the Architect would have given you your sister back? Don't you remember what happened in the silverite mine? Don't you remember what happened at Drake's Fall? Do you –"
"Silence!" Velanna cried out her skin starting to crack open, blue light filtering from the cracks. Her eyes suddenly started to glow blue as well.
Anders stared at her, unable to talk.
"We aren't trying to upset you. We helped you a few moments ago," Hawke said quietly.
"I had everything under control!" Velanna spoke in a guttural, booming voice.
"Yes, you did! That's why you almost died, right?" Anders retorted, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"You never could keep your mouth shut, could you?" Velanna boomed at him. "Where is that feline of yours you carried around? Where is your slave? Or did you finally allow him to be free?"
Anders's eyes widened in shock and he gasped. "I can't believe this! Justice? Is that you?"
As suddenly as the blue glowing light had appeared, it suddenly disappeared. Velanna shook her head and then her shoulders drooped slightly. With a flick of her hand she released both Anders and Hawke, the roots suddenly disappearing. Hawke toppled over Anders who caught her in his arms to keep her from falling.
"Yes. Justice and I merged before the templars arrived to control us at the Keep," Velanna eventually said, her voice tired. "He promised to help me find Seranni. I promised him to aid him, too. He has his own reasons for merging with me. Reasons I cannot and will not reveal…"
"Justice?" Hawke asked curiously. "What the fuck is going on here?
"Something you should not ask about, shemlen!" Velanna hissed at Hawke. "You know nothing of what it means to be an elf, enslaved in an alienage! You know nothing of Chantry templars who try to control people who are born with the gift of magic!"
"You're right. I don't," Hawke replied. "But my sister Bethany is a mage and lives in constant fear of the templars taking her to the circle. My father was an apostate mage, he escaped from the Circle. I've spent my whole life protecting my sister from the templars. I understand what you're talking about."
Velanna's eyes widened slightly and she shook her head again. She glanced at Anders ever so quickly and frowned. "I appreciate your aid with the dragonlings. I'll leave you be."
Velanna turned and walked away. Hawke advanced a few steps and called out to her eliciting a groan from Anders who was standing behind her.
"Wait! Where are you going?"
"I'm going to find my sister," Velanna replied without looking back. "And I hope, for your sake and mine, that we never see each other again."
She disappeared into the darkness and Hawke stopped in her tracks.
"I think it's time to tell me all about Justice," Rhianna turned to look at Anders. Both Bethany and Varric stood behind Anders, waiting for him to speak.
"Well then, I suggest we all sit down. It's not a very short story!" Anders smiled.
…
After having told Hawke, Varric and Bethany about Justice, Anders suggested they move on. They discovered a flight of stairs leading up to another path. Varric smiled and said that this was the way and that they had found a side route for Bartrand. So they all returned to Bartrand with the good news. Bartrand was exceedingly grumpy, as Hawke and her group had spent slightly over three days looking for a side road that had not collapsed.
"Your brother is annoyingly rude," Anders commented.
"No shit, Blondie!" Varric sighed. "At least when he's busy doing something he isn't so bad!"
They passed Bodahn and Sandal and he stopped Rhianna and shook her hand repeatedly, overjoyed that Sandal had returned to him unharmed.
"You found him and showed him the way back! I've been waiting for you to return, Serah, to express my thanks!" Bodahn cried out with emotion. "I'll find a way to repay you, Messere! I swear!"
Hawke blushed a little and Anders's heart did its stupid somersaulting all over again.
"You don't have to thank me. I'm just glad Sandal was alive and I could help," Rhianna smiled, her rosy cheeks an indication of how she really felt about the whole thing.
"Say 'thank you' to the nice lady, Sandal, for saving your life," Bodahn said to Sandal.
Sandal's lower lip wobbled. "Thank you."
Hawke smiled and gave him some of their weapons to enchant. She also looked through the supply chest and found more lyrium potions, which she readily paid for.
They walked on with Bartrand and the rest of the workers until they reached a weird-looking thaig. The walls were covered with glowing blue and red lyrium. Anders felt slightly dizzy.
"So much lyrium around here makes me want to hit something," he said under his breath.
"Holy shit!" Varric commented.
Hawke turned to Bartrand. "Is this what you expected to find?"
"I thought a lost thaig…something worth the find. But this? What is this?" Bartrand said in awe.
"How did you ever know about this place?" Hawke asked.
"Old scavenger tales," Bartrand replied, still staring at the scenery before him. "A week below the surface, they said. But nobody believed them…"
"Looks like they were right!" Varric exclaimed.
Bartrand ordered everyone to set up camp and Hawke walked over to where Bartrand was standing. They started talking about the thaig, and Anders stood by, feeling the hum of the lyrium nearby. Some of the workers had already started to hack away at the raw lyrium in the walls. If they didn't find anything here, the lyrium itself was worth a fortune, as it was sometimes sold illegally in quantities by dwarves and smugglers alike.
Soon, they decided to explore the ruins further in and Hawke let Bartrand know what they were going to do. Then the group went down a flight of stairs and was promptly attacked by a golem and several shades.
It didn't take long for Anders to freeze the golem solid and reach into the Veil for his electricity spells to disable the shades. Hawke slashed through them, finishing them off.
"There's a door down there. This is going to be fun!" Hawke called out to the rest, nearly skipping to the great metal door happily.
"Famous last words," Anders sighed behind her.
…
MAKER HELP US! This is just fantastic! Varric's brother shut us in this stupid room. And now we have to find another way out. The stupid Dwarven door doesn't open from the inside. Inside as in 'where we are now'. INSIDE the stupid room with the altar where we found the stupid idol made of stupid lyrium.
Stupid.
"'Stupid Bartrand took the stupid idol!'" Hawke read over his shoulder. Anders slammed the journal shut.
"This is private!" he said between clenched teeth.
"Then write when I'm asleep," Hawke grinned. "Personally I think it's cute you keep a diary! My sister keeps one as well!"
"This is NOT a diary! It is a JOURNAL!" Anders retorted, looking slightly miffed. "And I use it to preserve my mental health!"
Hawke burst out laughing and Anders glared at her.
"Did you write anything about me?" she finally asked, still giggling.
"What? No!" Anders retorted, his cheeks a bright pink.
"Hahaha! You did!" Hawke teased, reaching for the journal. "Let me see!"
"No! This is PRIVATE! It isn't some book I'm writing!" Anders protested in a loud voice as he held it high above his head.
"Hey, Blondie!" Varric shouted from where he sat. "Just show her so I can add it to my story."
Anders shoved the book into his backpack, glaring at Varric. Bethany suppressed a giggle and gazed at Anders and Rhianna with twinkling eyes.
"You're doomed now, Anders," Bethany chuckled. "She won't give it a rest until she reads it."
"Why don't we just continue to try to find a way out? I don't want to die here," Anders said, still very much annoyed.
"There's a door over there on the left. I have a feeling whatever is behind it must be hostile! Let's go kill something!" Hawke exclaimed happily, as she sprang to her feet.
"Ah, 'Killer Hawke' is back. What joy," Anders deadpanned.
She opened the door to reveal another stone golem and more shades. Anders groaned inwardly.
Golems and shades must really get along with each other! They're always together!
"Use ice spells, Bethany!" he called out. "If the golem is frozen, he'll be easier to destroy!"
"Yes!" Bethany had already cast one of her stronger ice spells on the creature and Anders followed suit. Meanwhile, Varric used his crossbow to shower the shades with arrows, stopping them in their tracks. Anders smiled, readying an electric bolt that would jump from shade to shade, as Hawke literally whizzed around each enemy slicing into each one quickly.
The shades kept coming. Bethany reached into the Veil for fire. The fire fell upon the creatures like a firestorm, the fiery explosions finishing them off. Hawke yelped, jumping out of the way. "You could have warned me, you know!" she yelled.
"Sorry, sister!" Bethany shouted back, running forward to inspect Hawke's burns.
The shades were dispatched and Anders stepped forward to heal Hawke. Bethany stepped away, looking worried.
"Anything wrong, Sunshine?" Varric asked.
"No…no, nothing," Bethany stammered, shaking her head.
But Varric could not shake the feeling that she was lying.
…
They ran into some strange creatures next. The stones scraped on the floor as they formed: creatures made of stone, which had a glowing skeletal interior. Nobody knew what they were, but Varric suspected they were rock wraiths. The creatures used electricity and Anders immediately knew that he couldn't use his own electricity spells to harm them so he fought them off with ice. Bethany used fire and ice as well, and they fortunately were able to finish them off.
They stopped to set up their tents and had something to eat.
"So, any story you'd like to share of Amaranthine?" Varric asked Anders eagerly.
"I've already told you about Velanna and Justice. What else would you like to hear?" Anders said munching on some ham and cheese at intervals.
"If you keep on eating like this, we'll be full out of rations before we can find a way out," Hawke said with a disapproving look.
"I'm so sorry!" Anders said, as he wrapped up their provisions. "It's my Warden appetite." He focused on a spell that conjured up ice shards and soon the ham was encrusted with ice crystals before he stashed it in the backpack they used for food.
"I hear they have a lot of appetite for other things and the stamina for them as well," Hawke commented in a sultry voice.
Anders grinned, his eyebrows shooting upwards. "I can show you if you'd like," he kept his voice as low as he could, but Varric chuckled and shook his head.
"You two are so much alike, it's unreal," Varric commented. "Hawke, if you don't want Anders to kiss you again, stop flirting!"
"It's impossible to do that sometimes, Varric," Hawke replied with a grin. "It's in my nature."
"A girl after my own heart, then," Anders teased.
"Well, let's catch some sleep. We'll need to rest to continue our trek tomorrow!" Rhianna stood, stretching before she headed towards her tent. "Varric, why don't you keep watch with Anders for the first couple of hours?"
"I'll keep watch with Varric," Bethany offered. "I'm…not very sleepy!"
Rhianna glanced up at Bethany and her smile vanished.
"You look so pale, sister. Are you all right?" She asked with a worried frown.
"I'm just tired, Rhianna, don't worry about me," Bethany responded, giving her the smallest of smiles. "Go, get your rest. I'll be fine!"
Hawke could only frown as she once again felt the uneasiness she had felt when her mother had given her that accusatory glance before they had even set off on their journey.
There was something amiss with Bethany and she didn't like it one bit.
…
Anders woke her for the second watch and she smiled and stretched on her bedroll.
"Bethany has already gone into her tent," he informed her. "Varric is lying on a bedroll just outside it."
She followed him out of the tent, sitting around the small fire on the floor. Varric had managed to find more coal and wood from broken crates at the side of the road, so Anders fed that to the flames and the fire flared up for a moment. He looked a bit pensive when Rhianna sat next to him, a small smile on his lips.
"Bethany doesn't look so good. I…ah…woke up before their watch was over and offered to examine her but she didn't let me," Anders said in a low voice. "I'm kind of worried about her."
"I noticed that too," Rhianna was quick to respond. "I hope it isn't anything serious. Mother would kill me if anything happened to her."
Anders shook his head, then glanced at Rhianna. "I daresay you wouldn't forgive yourself, either," he commented, pushing the last piece of wood into the fire, which was already dying down. He glanced around and found one of the braziers that adorned the thaig they were travelling through from time to time, and stood up, walking towards it. He used magic to light it. At least they would not be left in complete darkness when the fire died out.
He walked back to Rhianna and sat next to her, a smile on his face.
"Those things we've been fighting. They're harder to kill, but they must have a weakness," Rhianna commented.
"They do. Apparently, ice can damage them far more than I've seen it damage any other creature. Fire doesn't as much," Anders responded.
"Do you think there is a way out of here?" Rhianna asked wistfully.
"Oh, yes. I'm convinced in fact," Anders replied. "The Dwarves must have built another exit or entrance into this thaig."
"Well, I hope you're right," Rhianna said. "Who knows how long we've been in here already. You can't really tell if you can't see the sun."
"True," Anders replied with a frown. "We can only guess."
They both fell silent and then Hawke turned to him with an inquisitive look.
"So, what other companions did you have back in Amaranthine?" she asked curiously with a smile. "I'm sure Justice in Kristoff's body and Velanna weren't the only ones."
Anders laughed and shook his head. "No, you're right. Well, let's see. There was Sigrun. She was a Dwarf and in the Legion of the Dead."
"Legion of the Dead?" Hawke asked.
"Yes. It's a group of warriors and casteless dwarves in Orzammar who bond together to fight the darkspawn and defend Orzammar. It's like a military organization and they accept anyone in their ranks. We travelled to a long lost thaig called Kal'Hirol with Sigrun. We found out that there were two factions of darkspawn battling each other there. We also discovered a broodmother nest and the Warden-Commander killed them all by breaking the chains that held a massive lyrium storage container above them. When the chains were broken, the heavy container fell on the broodmothers and crushed them."
"What are broodmothers?" Hawke asked.
"Darkspawn monsters," Anders frowned. "I'll not say anything else, as it's a very disagreeable topic. Don't you want to find out more about me, for example?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
Hawke burst out laughing. "You just don't know when to stop, do you?"
"Neither do you," Anders shot back quickly with a grin.
"Well, at least tell me about the Architect and the Mother then?" Hawke said, her violet eyes twinkling.
"You really want to know, don't you? How about if I tell you about my seven escapes from the Circle? Would that do instead?" Anders chuckled.
"That sounds interesting too!" Hawke agreed. "All right. Tell me about your escapes and then you can tell me more about what happened in Amaranthine, deal?"
"Deal," Anders responded as he stretched his legs out in front of him and began his tale.
They never noticed the fire had died down and the red-orange glowing embers of the coals were the only things that were keeping them warm. They talked and laughed quietly for a very long time. Hawke also opened up to him a little more, telling him about what their lives had been like in Lothering. Anders smiled as she talked, watching her closely, her every gesture and eye twinkle bringing her closer to his heart as she spoke.
He learned that every time she wanted to say something funny and remain serious at the same time, her eyes nearly always gave her away. He learned that she could smile at him slowly when she was pleased at something he had said. He also felt his heart somersault every time she looked at him with twinkling eyes when she flirted. He had discovered almost from the moment that he met her that she had a good heart. But he was reminded of that and more when he saw how touched she was upon hearing the story of how they had defended the people in the City of Amaranthine against the darkspawn.
"You miss your cat a lot, don't you?" she said softly hours later, when Varric finally had awoken and she stood up to wake Bethany so that they could continue on their journey. "Ser Pounce-a-lot…"
"Yes," Anders replied sadly. "I miss him a great deal, in fact."
"Well…" she said, giving him a lovely smile. "We'll just have to fix that, won't we?"
…