Thank you so much Violet Enigma, Alexandrine Jennings, Apollo Wings, anesor and Morninglight for your awesome reviews! I also want to thank my lovely beta Eynla for her help!

Special thanks to my friend Apollo Wings who is helping me out with some research for the next chapter/s. I urge those of you who haven't read her fic 'The Daughter of the Mountain' to please do so – she's created her own OC, and Origin, and weaved a delightful fic of our heroes battling the Blight! It also has interesting information on the Avvar, which I am also researching for future chapters. I suck at links here, so if it doesn't work for you, check out my favorites list for the link to her story! (No spaces in between when you copy it to your browser!)

www . fan fiction s / 9647117 / 1 / The –Daughter –Of – The - Mountain

This chapter has a smexy scene right after the first break, so fair warning! NSFW! Also, this chapter contains spoilers for the Mark of the Assassin DLC! You have been warned!

My disclaimer as always: Bioware owns everything!

Chapter 20

Rhianna tossed and turned in bed, painfully aware of the fact that Anders's side of the bed was empty. She sighed as she looked up at the top of her four-poster bed and sat up, a frown on her face.

Ever since Aveline's wedding – nearly two weeks ago, Anders had been coming home to bed very late, or not coming to bed at all. She went through the whole wedding again in her mind, analyzing the serious conversation they had had. While she had been surprised at his awkward proposal, she wasn't at all against it. In fact, she had felt a thrill when she imagined what marriage life would be like next to this amazing man, who also happened to be handsome and very good with his hands.

She missed him. They had not been intimate for a while, but it wasn't only that. She missed his smiles and jokes, and his crooning softly to his cat, while she sat at her desk checking the missives that arrived after a long day of battling evil. She missed the way he smiled at her, that slow, lopsided smile when they were alone or when she wore something sexy, or nothing at all. She missed the look in his warm, brown eyes when she asked him to join her in the huge tub for a bath. She missed the sparks that flowed from his fingertips every now and then when they made love. Above all, she missed him. All the perfections and imperfections that made up the wonderful man he was.

She stood up and began to pace the room, but threw her hands up into the air after a while, deciding not to think about it if she could help it. Instead, she put on a robe and opened the door to her room, then padded down the stairs to the foyer to look at the correspondence on the desk, since she had failed to do so earlier that evening.

She sighed wearily when she saw another half a dozen invitations to parties and rolled her eyes at each of the nobles' missives to her. A noise in the library made her turn and promptly walk to the library door, then stop at the threshold, suppressing a sigh at what she saw.

Anders had fallen asleep on the desk there, knocking over a book in the process. Whiskers was licking himself and looked up at Rhianna seriously, causing her to smile slightly, but her eyes darted back to her lover, who was sound asleep with his head and arms on the desk.

Very quietly, she picked up the book and looked at the title. Herbalism in the Tevinter Imperium by Senior Enchanter Ines of Kinloch Hold.

No wonder he had fallen asleep.

Setting the book on the desk, she looked down at him, and smiled tenderly. She was debating on whether or not she should wake him, but decided against it. She could see the dark circles under his eyes and knew he hadn't been getting enough sleep. Turning around, she tiptoed to the door again to leave the room, but a groan escaped his lips and she whirled around to face him.

"No!" he said in his sleep, followed by a heartbreaking sigh. She frowned. If he was having a nightmare then…

She walked up to him again with a determined look on her face, and shook him gently.

"Anders?"

He woke instantly, as she knew he would – he was a healer after all and probably used to waking up in the wee hours of the morning if a patient needed him.

"Love!" he exclaimed, stretching and yawning. Ser Whiskers jumped up on the desk, and he smiled at the cat, then his gaze fell on her and his smile deepened. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I couldn't sleep," she replied with a smile, her eyes fixed on his.

"I could read you a bedtime story," he suggested in his usual flamboyant style as he waggled his eyebrows at her. She laughed, happy that her Anders was apparently back.

"Or do something else, maybe?" she suggested seductively.

His smile suddenly vanished as soon as he heard those words and she frowned as he stood up rather quickly, picking up the volume of herbalism from the desk.

"What time is it, anyway?" he asked as he glanced at the window across the room.

Rhianna took two steps and stood before him, suddenly angry at what was happening.

"Anders, you've been avoiding me, why?" she demanded.

"Don't be ridiculous, love, why would I –"

"Spare me the stupid, patronizing words you are about to say," she countered, her eyes flashing at him.

He shook his head, his eyes sad beyond measure as he looked at her. "I'm not trying to be patronizing, love."

"I want to know why," she shot back undeterred, her anger dissolving almost instantly when she saw the sadness in his eyes.

He sighed then, shaking his head with a miserable look that caused her to fling her arms around him in a tight embrace, her heart in pain over what was happening.

He hugged her back, but did not speak for a while. "I'm having a hard time at the clinic, love," he murmured finally. There's been an outbreak of a strange illness and I've been working all night sometimes. I'm sorry if I've been away."

His explanation made some sense, considering the book he had been reading when he had fallen asleep, but she still couldn't shake the feeling that he was holding back and avoiding to say something else to her. He broke the embrace and looked into her eyes pleadingly and she melted in his arms.

"I understand," she managed to whisper.

"I'm here because I remembered I had a volume on herbalism that I wanted to check out to see if I could come up with another potion that would help my patients," he said earnestly, leaning in slightly to capture her lips in a kiss.

The kiss was passionate and a little demanding on her part, even if she didn't want it to be. Two weeks was a long time. The book fell to the floor as a moan escaped his lips and she felt his erection immediately, which almost put her mind at ease.

Almost.

He broke away from the kiss and her embrace, picking up the book from the floor and putting it into his pack, which had been lying against the desk, then turned to her again. "I have to return. I've got all my cots with patients who need me, love."

She nodded. "Do you need any help?"

"Oh, no!" he quickly said, his eyes widening slightly. "I wouldn't want you to catch whatever it is they have. Not until I come up with a better cure, at least."

He embraced her again, and turned away, heading towards the cellar door. "I'll be back later."

His exit was so quick, he forgot about Ser Whiskers, leaving him behind with Rhianna. The cat looked at the cellar door in utter disbelief and then looked up at her, totally astonished that Anders would such a thing.

"I agree, Whiskers," she said picking up the cat and petting him. "We'll have to get to the bottom of this, won't we?"

"Mew!" the cat agreed wholeheartedly.

…

Anders sighed at the empty clinic, dragging his feet on the floor to the desk where he kept his potions. He hated himself, not only because he had lied to Rhianna, but because he could not still the beating of his heart, nor calm his throbbing erection. He shook his head, and then wondered if he was somehow insane to have left his beautiful lover standing in the library after having shared a kiss that had left him – and her if he could venture a guess – so painfully aroused.

That kiss! Maker! His hand unwillingly traveled to the bulge in his breeches, and he stood up quickly as he made his way to the tiny back room inside. Flinging himself on the cot, he undid the laces on his breeches and wrapped his hand around his throbbing arousal, a moan escaping his lips. He quickly envisioned Rhianna above him and stroked himself, hissing through clenched teeth as he picked up a rhythm.

He imagined her smiling down at him and touching herself, mewling with pleasure as she moved up and down, her gasps echoing in his mind. He let out a groan that filled the tiny room, his hand moving up and down his shaft faster as he picked up the pace. In his mind's eye, he saw one of her hands now moving down to her clit, and she massaged it wildly with an animalistic growl escaping her lips. The cry that escaped his lips when he finally came turned into a whimper immediately afterwards.

He took a deep breath and opened his eyes, reaching under the pillow where he kept a cloth, then cleaned himself. Flinging the cloth on the floor, he settled back on the cot, but a hiss made him sit back up again and look around. Ser Whiskers was sitting on one of the crates and staring at him with disdain.

He adjusted himself and tied up the laces of his breeches quickly, remembering with dismay that he had left the cat behind with Rhianna at the estate – knowing very well that Ser Whiskers never left the house on his own, unless he or Rhianna was with him. Getting up, he ran to the next room and looked around, his eyes nearly bulging out of his sockets as he desperately thought of something to say to her.

The clinic was empty.

He walked to the entrance next– he'd left the door wide open – and peered into the darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of her, but he saw only shadows. The sinking sensation he was feeling dropped all the way to the bottom of his stomach when he understood what that meant.

"Fuck!" he said sadly in a whisper. Turning around, he walked back into the clinic, his eyes falling on the cat that was now sitting on his desk, gazing at him with an accusatory glance.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!"

…

He finally dragged his feet through the cellar the following day in the evening, dreading to face her, but knowing he could not avoid it any longer. Ser Whiskers meowed from his shoulder and he sadly petted his cat when he reached the stairs that led to the door of the estate.

Sighing, he took out his key and unlocked the door, stepping into the library. He looked around and heard Rhianna in the foyer talking to Varric. Making his way to the foyer, he braced himself for the inevitable.

Varric said 'hello' cheerfully to him and Rhianna turned to face him, her eyes devoid of emotion as she gazed directly into his. Anders felt his cheeks turn pink and he forced himself to smile.

"What are you doing here, Varric?" he asked pleasantly, feeling slightly faint as Rhianna regarded him coolly.

"You didn't know?" Varric replied, looking mildly surprised and turning to inspect Rhianna who was still smiling fixedly at Anders. Varric immediately realized he found himself in the middle of something and once again cursed silently for not bringing his journal and quill to write everything down.

"Anders has been too busy, lately," Rhianna supplied sweetly. "There's been a terrible outbreak of a strange sickness in Darktown. Isn't that right, my love?"

Anders faltered, his smile slowly dwindling down to nothing.

"Really?" Varric said interestedly. "How strange! I've heard nothing about that." The dwarf smiled at the couple, enjoying himself wholeheartedly.

"Varric is staying for dinner with us, Fenris should be here shortly. I invited them both over, since we'll be going to the square all together. We're supposed to meet his friend Edge there," Rhianna explained, still in the same sweet voice.

"Oh!" Anders quickly interjected, running his tongue along his lower lip nervously. "Having them over for dinner is a wonderful idea, love!" Ser Whiskers mewed from his shoulder and Anders hastily set the cat on the floor. "I'll go feed Whiskers, then, and – " he paused, avoiding Rhianna's eyes – "meet you all at the dining table."

"Of course," Rhianna said in the same sing-song voice.

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

Anders quickly fled the room, with Ser Whiskers close behind, and did not stop until he got to the kitchen. He heard the knock on the front door and he knew it was Fenris, so he fed his cat as quickly as he could in order to head back to the dining room.

"I didn't know you were coming to dinner, Master!" Orana exclaimed as she entered the kitchen, gasping at the implications. "I'll have to set a place for you!" She hurried out to the table and Anders pulled himself together the best he could as he followed her into the room with a wooden smile on his face, sweating profusely.

Varric and Rhianna smiled up him for a few seconds and Fenris frowned. He noticed that Fenris was sitting at the head of the table, which was his place. Even though he knew it was merely because of what had happened, it didn't stop the pang of jealousy he felt. He made his way around the chairs and sat next to Varric, his smile still in place.

They waited until Orana had finished putting the silverware and a plate in front of him, along with a glass for wine and left. Anders chanced a look at Fenris, who was smirking at him and scowled.

"I hope it doesn't rain. I hate it when it rains in the middle of a mission," Rhianna said to no one in particular as Orana entered the room again, carrying a big tray with a roast, with steaming vegetables all around it. Sandal also made an appearance, carrying another tray with roasted potatoes. They set the food down and Rhianna first served Fenris a plate and then Varric, while Anders glared at his empty dish for a few moments and Varric smiled.

Everyone else had already started eating, so Anders took the tray of potatoes first and served himself, then the roast – piling a few slices on his plate along with some vegetables. He then poured himself some wine. He finally began to eat, keeping quiet and avoiding everyone at the table on purpose – even Varric.

Rhianna chatted with Fenris the whole meal, while Varric attempted to talk to Anders, who glared at Fenris and Rhianna instead.

"Did you cook this meal, Hawke?" Fenris asked when they finished.

"I did. I cook from time to time, although Orana can cook very well and helps me a lot when I'm in the kitchen with her. I like cooking, actually," Rhianna laughed.

"It was delicious," Fenris smiled at her.

Anders nearly snarled into his wine and ended up coughing. Fenris smirked at him and he glared back.

"Well, let's all go to the library and have some more wine," Rhianna said as she stood up, oblivious to what had just happened. "We still have an hour to kill."

Anders stood up and waited for Varric and Fenris to exit the room. He grabbed Rhianna's arm before she even reached the door.

"I'm sorry, love," he whispered. "I didn't mean to lie to you, I really didn't. I just – I'm going through something and –"

Rhianna looked up at him, her eyes smoldering, then looked down at his hand on her arm. "Let me go," she said in a soft voice.

Anders blinked back, releasing her. His frown turned into a pout. "I'm sorry!"

"I'm sorry, too, Anders," she replied in a tired voice. "I'm sorry that you don't love me enough to trust me…"

"I do trust you!" he protested vehemently.

"If that's trust, then I obviously am wrong about seeing you pleasuring yourself in your clinic last night as well," she replied frostily, her eyes flashing angrily at him.

"I can't give you the life you should have!" Anders blurted out, the tears threatening to fall. "As a Grey Warden, I'm doomed to live a short life – a little over twenty years now as a matter of fact!"

Rhianna's eyes widened and she stared at him, unable to utter a word.

"Messere?" Bodahn said in a soft voice, interrupting them. "Master Varric asks if you two are coming."

Rhianna drew a breath in and exhaled slowly. She nodded to Bodahn, and turned back to Anders. "We'll be there right away, Bodahn," she said softly, looking up at her lover.

"Nothing excuses the fact that you lied to me, love," she said sadly to Anders when Bodahn had left. "Varric and Fenris are waiting for us in the library. We'll talk about this later."

…

The square was empty.

Rhianna turned to Varric, a frown on her face as she regarded the dwarf silently.

"And, of course, there's no one," she waved to the empty space around them.

"I don't understand!" Varric said shaking his head. "Edge was very specific about it all in his message!"

"This is usually when we're ambushed," Fenris shook his head, his eyes darting around the empty market square.

"Why does it always have to be about an ambush with you?" Varric sighed.

At that very moment, some men dropped down from the alcoves above and at least a dozen ran forward from the other square with bows, aiming directly at them. Two others approached them from the shadows behind the stalls; one of them, who looked like the leader, planted himself directly in front of the group with a sardonic smile on his face.

"Okay," Varric sighed again. "Sometimes it is about an ambush."

"Ah! The Champion of Kirkwall!" The man jeered. "The Crows send their greetings! You will die here tonight!"

Before they could unsheathe their weapons to face them, there was a commotion on the roof and Rhianna saw a knife fly through the air and land on the neck of one of the archers, making him grasp at his throat and fall to the stone ground right at their feet. In a few seconds, mayhem broke around them as a redheaded elf suddenly made an appearance, killing two others with knives she flung at them. She then slashed at one of the men closest to her, using him as a shield as she dropped down to where Rhianna and her group were standing. Tumbling gracefully to the ground in a somersault, she got up and ran to the man that had threatened Hawke, pausing for a moment to wink at him, and then slashed his throat as well. She whirled around to face Hawke and said, "Well? What are you waiting for?"

Then, all hell broke loose.

…

The fight was not as difficult as it could have been, but Hawke was exceedingly annoyed.

"Who the blazes is that?" she yelled at Varric who flung a rain of arrows at the nearest group of crow assassins in order to slow them down.

"Don't know, don't care!" Varric called out, now firing at the group of archers. "Kill now, ask questions later!"

Fenris jumped in the air and delivered his deadly blow at the assassins, and Hawke managed to appear behind one of them and slash his throat while she kicked the other one, who suddenly disappeared after throwing a smoke bomb. Rhianna cursed, then hurriedly warned Fenris, who nodded as he ran forward to lash out at the next thug. She herself hurled a smoke bomb and ran off to the archers, while Anders flung a tempest at all the rest.

The redhead, in the meantime, had managed to kill three more and fatally wound another one, which Rhianna took care of quickly. She smiled at Rhianna and ran past her, onto the other group of six that had suddenly appeared.

Rhianna leapt forward, and tossed a combustion grenade as a welcoming gift to the newcomers, grinning as she watched their black leather chest pieces melt from the intensity of the fire. She laughed when they cried out, and moved in lithely to finish them off. She then hurried over to the remaining archers and quickly slashed at the ones Anders had frozen, while Fenris rushed in to help.

The fight ended and Rhianna turned to look at the redhead, a slow smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"That was some entrance," she purred. "You've got some good moves."

"I do, don't I?" The redhead elf grinned, walking up to Rhianna with a smile on her face.

Anders stepped up right next to Rhianna, his brow furrowed as he regarded the elf, his eyes narrowing.

"You're not even suspicious about how she just 'happened' to jump in just as we were ambushed by a large group of crows?" he nearly growled in an aside to Rhianna.

"I didn't have anything to do with this attack," the redhead said defensively.

"I'm not saying you did," Anders shot back at her, his eyes flashing angrily for a few seconds.

"I'm pretty sure she isn't a templar, Anders," Rhianna quipped, without taking her eyes off the elf.

"My name is Tallis," the elf said, graciously taking a bow before Rhianna. "And I came here looking for you."

Anders's frown deepened, the jealousy he was feeling making him angrier than he had felt in a while. He stared at the elf and at Rhianna, scowling as he tried to get a grip on himself and managing to – barely.

Varric chuckled as he observed the whole scene before him.

"And here I thought we were going to spend a boring evening listening to Edge talk about nobles!"

…