First of all my thanks to all my wonderful reviewers: Anesor, Violet Enigma, Apollo Wings, Pintsizedpsycho, karebear, Eilonwycousland and momonigiri. I love you guys! And I also want to thank my lovely betas CouslandSpitFire and Eynla for all their help and suggestions! :D

It's no secret that I don't like Sebastian much. Neither do Anders and Rhianna, lol. I'm sorry if you are a fan of his, but I don't treat him very badly in this chapter, lol!

Also, I believe that Anders isn't exactly all: freedom for mages! This Anders has not merged with Justice. Therefore, he strongly disapproves of the Libertarians/Resolutionists. This is lore-related as those of you who have played through Dragon Age - Awakening already know (cough *the meeting with Wynne in front of the Chantry* cough). I just wanted to refer to this here, so that there are NO mistakes about how I believe Justice changed Anders.

My disclaimer as always: Bioware owns everything! :D

Chapter 26

Excerpt from Anders's Journal:

Sigh.

Sebastian Bloody Vael.

No. 'Bloody' is not his middle name. But it may very well be. He is a pain in the arse. He's royalty, too. So I'll just call him a ROYAL pain in the arse.

'Sebastian RPIA'. There.

We met him a while back when he was trying to find the people who murdered his parents. Well, that's not entirely true. We really met him AFTER we found the people who murdered his parents. They hired a group of mercenaries to do the job. Rhianna killed them all (of course). Then we went to collect the money. Four gold sovereigns for the job, which took us closer to the Deep Roads Expedition, that lovely place where we met our dear friend, Velanna. Also the place where Rhianna's sister, Bethany, was infected with the Taint.

I know what this looks like. The Deep Roads Expedition looks like the worst thing Rhianna has done in her life. It brought Velanna into our lives for one thing. Having a possessed mage in your party running around hurling fireballs is not very safe. But, as I've always said, she does kill the bad guys, so I suppose it could be worse.

Bethany becoming a Grey Warden – Bethany with the Taint running through her veins, now that's terrible. I've talked to Rhianna about this and we've decided to make a trip to the Warden Outpost in Ansburg to visit Bethany, tell her about the Avvar and take her there. However, try as we might, we can't seem to get away. We're flooded with jobs and most of the jobs involve helping our companions and friends. Since our companions are family to Rhianna, she won't leave Kirkwall.

So, we're staying for now.

But I digress. I was writing about Sebastian RPIA. Let me get back on track.

The next job he had for us a few years back involved a dungeon underneath one of the estates in Kirkwall. He went with us for that one. Unavoidable, as he had promised to accompany us EVERYWHERE until we decided to look into the 'favor' he had asked us to do. The look on Rhianna's face was of pure terror when he declared that, so we decided to help him out immediately, if only to avoid having him around for the other jobs we had to do. I mean, having some bloke tagging along who tries to brainwash you into believing that a life dedicated to the Chantry is the BEST thing in all of Thedas while you are trying to kill people, undead creatures or monsters is somewhat nerve-wracking to say the least. Not to mention his fondness for saying 'Maker' all the time.

Also, this person has a belt buckle which has been crafted to look like Andraste's head. That's creepy enough for me.

So, we got that done, even though it involved fighting a crazy noblewoman and a desire demon in the end. I mean, it came as no surprise to us that it involved that at all. Rhianna was always putting herself in danger, right? And Kirkwall has such an array of interesting demons, too.

Back to the subject in question: three years later, as in now, Sebastian, His Royal 'Arseness' has just sent us a missive asking us to do him another favor. However, the missive failed to mention what this favor is. So we have to go to the Chantry to ask him. Rhianna groaned when she finished reading the missive. And to be honest, so did I.

So, we have to see him again, and he'll probably tag along AGAIN, because there is NO DOUBT in my mind that he'll want to go with us.

We're both thrilled to pieces.

Sigh.

…

Rhianna frowned slightly at the Grand Cleric and shifted her weight impatiently from one foot to the other. She wasn't interested in the martyr Deverina (whoever that was) or the fact that Sebastian was being reprimanded again for the hundredth time. She just wanted someone to tell her what the problem was and what she had to do to solve it.

Almost as if she had read her thoughts, the Grand Cleric suddenly veered the conversation artistically and told her that there was a secret agent of the Divine in Kirkwall, who was staying at the Viscount's Keep. Then she asked Rhianna to meet with her and tell her that action against Kirkwall was unnecessary.

Rhianna started and gave Anders a sideways glance. He knew that she was thinking something along the lines of 'Uh, oh!', and frowned slightly.

"Action against Kirkwall?" Rhianna began uncertainly, then cleared her throat. "Why exactly would the Divine take action against Kirkwall?"

"There are blood mages everywhere, Hawke," Sebastian said in a grave voice, his gaze fixed on Elthina. "Still, a handful of apostates are hardly a reason for the Divine to send her forces marching to Kirkwall! What about the innocents?"

"Were no innocents harmed during the Exalted March, Sebastian?" Grand Cleric Elthina replied with a frown. "The Divine is concerned. It is never wise to draw the concern of the powerful."

"Who is this secret agent of the Divine?" Rhianna then asked.

"I was not told her name, only that she calls herself Sister Nightingale," Elthina said. "I beg you Champion; please convince her to tell the Divine that drastic measures aren't necessary. She will be waiting in the Throne Room."

With those words, Rhianna turned and glanced briefly at Anders, her eyes flashing angrily. It was still early, and both she and Anders had hoped for a nice, quiet dinner. Now they would have Sebastian trailing after them wherever they went. Since they had nothing to do at the moment, that meant they would have to endure his presence until night fell and it was time for them to go to the Viscount's Keep.

"If you have something to do, let me help, Hawke," Sebastian said cheerfully. Rhianna uttered a curse word just under her breath. Suddenly, she remembered Fenris would probably be at the estate for his daily reading lesson and smiled brightly at Sebastian.

"I doubt that you could help me, Sebastian," Rhianna chuckled. "Fenris is coming over for a reading lesson. But I'm sure Anders would love to entertain you in the meantime!"

Anders threw a sharp glance in her direction, but Rhianna had already left the Chantry and Sebastian turned to face Anders with a smile on his face.

"Do you need any help in your clinic? I can make potions," the archer offered eagerly.

"Um, I don't," Anders began lamely. "I'm not going to the clinic right now. Let's just follow Rhianna. I'm sure she'd love to see you at our dinner table."

Two can play this game, my lovely death-wish goddess!

…

Fortunately for Anders, Ser Whiskers demanded all his attention upon arrival at the estate, so Sebastian watched silently while Anders played with his cat.

They were in a room next to the kitchen, which Rhianna called 'the reading room.' The room had some nice furniture and a couple of bookcases against the walls. After a few moments, Anders looked up with a smile and saw that Sebastian was now standing in front of one of the bookcases, quietly looking through the books.

Ser Whiskers pawed at Anders and meowed.

"Make yourself at home, Sebastian," Anders said with a smile. "My cat's hungry, so I'm off to feed him."

Sebastian nodded and turned back to the books with great interest.

As Anders headed towards the kitchen, there was a knock on the door. He quickly placed the kitten on his shoulder and walked to the foyer, in time to see Bodahn open the door for Varric.

"Hey, Blondie!" Varric grinned as he walked inside. "What's new?"

"Rhianna is locked inside the library with Fenris," Anders replied with a pout. "I'm stuck with Sebastian until after dinner."

"What's Choir Boy doing here?" Varric asked with a chuckle. "The only time I've seen him around is when we had to help him out with the Harimanns…and that was more than three years ago!"

"The Grand Cleric asked us to do a favor for her," Anders sighed. "Choir Boy is tagging along."

"It's always the same," Varric grinned. "Why can't Hawke just tell him to stay put in the Chantry?"

"She had a reading lesson with Fenris and quite happily left me with him. Thank the Maker for Ser Whiskers or I would have died of boredom already… or ended up shooting some lightning around!"

Varric burst out laughing. "Shooting lightning at fools, eh? Where is he, by the way?"

"In the reading room," Anders replied promptly. "Fortunately for me, he knows how to read. Rhianna doesn't know he's staying for dinner. Why should I be the only one to put up with him?"

"Hawke asked me over for dinner today," Varric said thoughtfully. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she planned it all."

"She's so lucky, I'm jealous!" Anders sighed again. "Why do I have to 'entertain' RPIA on my own?"

"RPIA?" Varric echoed.

"Royal Pain in the Arse," Anders mumbled. At that moment, Ser Whiskers swiped a clawed paw and scratched his ear. "Ouch! All right, all right, Ser Whiskers! Come with me to the kitchen, Varric. My cat's hungry and will probably maim me for life if I don't feed him soon!"

…

The meeting with Sister Nightingale proved to be a harrowing experience for all. Since Fenris had stayed for dinner as well at Rhianna's insistence, he was also asked to go with them. Rhianna flashed a smile at the guard who saluted her with a "Hello again, Champion," as they entered the keep. In fact, every single guard posted on duty that night on their way to the Throne room saluted Hawke with great respect, something that made Anders smile proudly.

"The Throne room has been locked ever since the Viscount was killed by the Qunari," Sebastian announced. "How are we going to get inside?"

Rhianna rolled her eyes as she approached the door. "Honestly, Sebastian. I'm going to make believe you never asked that question." She paused for a few moments to fumble with something inside one of her pockets and brought out a set of lockpicks.

"Aren't you a rogue?" Fenris asked Sebastian who was blushing. "I've seen you use lockpicks before."

"I thought we would be needing a key," the Prince replied in a defensive tone. "There are some doors that won't open unless you have the key."

The familiar click, which told the group the door was unlocked, resonated throughout the empty corridor and Rhianna pulled the heavy doors open with a grin.

The group walked into the vast room and stopped in their tracks when three mages suddenly appeared on the stairs leading to the throne.

"So, the Divine fears us now?" one of the mages called out – the leader, no doubt. "She should!" The mage then unsheathed her staff and gave the order to attack, then cut her hand immediately afterwards, summoning a horde of undead.

Anders groaned and focused on an ice spell to freeze a rage demon in its tracks. It was always like this. Bloody blood mages everywhere in the city! He didn't understand why they hadn't run into NORMAL apostates yet.

The undead were relentless, and the blood mage leader kept summoning them at intervals, until Rhianna suddenly materialized behind her and slit her throat. The fight became easier after the leader had died and the five friends were all relieved when they finally won the battle. Anders turned to smile at Hawke, when suddenly they heard running footsteps and two other mages came into the room.

Anders frowned. He had used his last lyrium potion and still had to heal everyone in the group. He needn't have worried, however. There was a swooshing sound and a cloud of smoke and a redhead appeared behind the two mages and quickly stabbed them. The mages were dead even before they hit the floor. Plus, the redhead was pretty.

Rhianna seemed to notice this, too. She smiled her slow smile and Anders felt the all-too familiar pang of jealousy.

"Are you Sister Nightingale?" she purred.

He cleared his throat right beside Rhianna, but she paid no attention to him, her eyes still fixed on Sister Nightingale who was smiling back at her.

"I am, but you can also call me Leliana."

"The Leliana? Who accompanied the Hero of Ferelden during the Blight?" Rhianna shot back with slightly widened eyes.

"Ah! I see it will be hard to remain anonymous so close to the Fereldan border!" Leliana replied cheerfully. "Yes, I knew the Hero of Ferelden. Perhaps you have heard the songs I've written of our time together? She's a fine queen for King Alistair."

"She sure is!" Anders agreed wholeheartedly and Leliana fixed her clear, blue stare on him with a smile.

"You know her?" she asked Anders.

"I was under her command at Vigil's Keep," Anders responded with a twinkle in his eye and a lopsided smile.

"Yes, she was Warden-Commander there, but her duties at court called her away," Leliana replied. "Then you know what a remarkable woman she was." The pretty redhead sighed when she looked down at the corpses on the floor. "The Resolutionists."

"Who are the Resolutionists?" Rhianna asked.

"An offshoot of a fraternity within the Circle of Magi," Leliana explained.

"The Libertarians," Anders murmured with a shake of his head.

"And they are supported by the Tevinter Magisters," Fenris snarled.

"There is no proof of that," Leliana frowned. "There have always been factions that support freedom from the Chantry and the abolition of the Circle. We have…tolerated them. But the Resolutionists have become violent. They are likely behind the unrest here."

"They are a bit…um…insane when it comes to freedom from the Circle," Anders commented. "Very foolish if you ask me!"

"You are against the mages who seek autonomy from the Circle?" Fenris asked Anders in disbelief.

"I think it would be a recipe for disaster. You wouldn't have thought so, since I'm an apostate, right?" Anders grinned.

"Why do I get the feeling you planned this attack?" Rhianna queried.

"Maybe because I did," the redhead smiled. "I let word slip that I was here to investigate the mage troubles, sent by the Divine. I wanted to see if these mages would come here to try to bring me down."

"Well, aside from a couple of…'wild' cards, the Grand Cleric has everything under control. I swear!" Rhianna said with a smile. "I don't really want the Divine's soldiers marching into Kirkwall."

"Divine Justinia takes the situation here very seriously. She believes it's the worst threat to Thedas since the Qunari invaded," Sister Nightingale said.

"It's only a handful of apostates," Sebastian scoffed.

"If you hadn't set this up, you wouldn't have had blood mages here to begin with. I swear the whole situation isn't that bad!" Rhianna frowned. She ransacked her brain, trying to find a more convincing argument, but couldn't come up with one.

"The whole world is watching Kirkwall. If it falls to magic, none of us are safe," Leliana declared ominously.

The redhead turned to leave, but stopped when she got to the doors. She turned back to address the group, delivering a final, parting remark.

"Tell Elthina to leave. There is refuge for her at the Grand Cathedral in Orlais. She will not be safe here."

…