It took twice as long for us to reach home since Anders would demand we stop and rest every few hours, making me lie in the grass while he attempted another round of healing spells. I refused once, anxious to be back at the Keep, but started stumbling on the road not long after. He stared at me, triumphant, and repeated his order for rest.

"Maggie," he said, passing me a water skin, "you may be the Commander, but you are the worst healer I've ever seen."

"More sweet nothings?" I made a face at him. "Your flattery needs work."

"Hey, I can be serious sometimes." I sighed and let him go on. "You are the worst harrowed healer, perhaps ever, while I've often been told I'm the best healer seen in a generation, since my own mentor."

"Was it Wynne," I guessed.

"Yes, and no, we can't stand each other. Stop changing the subject." I made a face. "You lost a lot of blood. I don't even know how you managed to wake up on your own honestly, but I'm too relieved to question it." He pointed at me then, looking stern. "I would never question your orders normally, but when it comes to anyone's health you have to listen to me. Now drink all that water and when I say we have to stop and rest you have to actually stop and rest." He was right, of course. Healers were trained in more than just the basic spells, if Anders didn't have a reputation for running away he could have had his pick of personal physician jobs for any noble in the country.

Wasn't going to keep me from teasing him, though.

I emptied the waterskin. "You know, right now… you kind of remind me of Wynne."

"Don't you dare…"

"Lectures on the importance of my duty next?"

"Maggie…"

"Going to call me childish for wanting to hear about griffins instead of made up philosophical battles?"

"Maggie!"

"oooh, or will you tell me I demean both myself and the entire order of Grey Wardens by taking time out from fighting a blight and singlehandedly restoring honor to the order in Ferelden to occasionally have sex? I think that was my favorite Wynne lecture."

"Mag- Wait, what?"

I giggled, exhausted. "She didn't approve of me being involved with, well, anyone I suspect, but Zevran in particular. It was such a strange conversation. First she went on about the wisdom of a Grey Warden being involved with someone who was so clearly interested in 'just one thing.' It was funny since at the time I wasn't interested in anything beyond that, either." He made a face, for a moment looking almost jealous. "Knock it off; I didn't even know you then, and you're not exactly a paragon of chastity."

"Then," I went on, "she starts talking about how selfish love is, and asking what I'll do if I have to pick ending the blight or him. My jaw dropped so far I could have tripped on it. Love? Selfish? I wouldn't even trust the bastard to sleep in the same tent as me yet!"

"Wait, you mean, you just kicked him out after?" I nodded. "oooh, you're cold."

"Well, to be fair, this was perhaps two weeks after he'd tried to kill me. My concern was justified."

"I'd say so. What even possessed you to think that was a good idea?"

I reached up to tug on his ponytail. "What can I say, long blond hair makes me soft in the brain. Plus, I was absolutely convinced I could die at any given moment, and determined to enjoy myself at least a little bit before some genlock or Loghain lackey chopped off my head."

"Well, I'm never cutting my hair," Anders said. "I suppose I can't judge, I even seduced a templar to escape once."

"Seduced a templar?" I asked after a moment, a grin forming.

"Yep. It never occurred to me that she would take the bait and still bring me back in. I've never felt so used. I mean, a templar." He mock-shuddered. "I almost wonder if she was hoping for a repeat, and that's why she got so mad when you conscripted me."

"You seduced Ser Rylock?! How did you manage that? The woman didn't exactly seem like one to bend the rules."

"I'll have you know I can be quite charming," he protested, "and once I decided to keep my eyes closed I managed to rise to the occasion. I just thought about a cute apprentice who winked at me once." I didn't know if I was supposed to be flattered or disturbed by that. Or if he was making it up just to tease me. The latter was perhaps the most likely.

"Maybe she shares your appreciation for a nice haircut." He paused for a moment, smiling. "Ohh, maybe she got mad because she was jealous. Of you!" I cast him a dubious glance but he went on, too enthralled with the story he was creating. "Yes… she was jealous of you so she planted a trap for me, trying to get me back. And then you killed her to keep me with you! Rather brutally, at that, so perhaps you were a bit jealous yourself." Anders stretched out on the grass, smiling at his vision of a Ferelden where women battled to the death over him.

I suppose technically I did kill her to keep him with me, although I was thinking of him as a Warden at the time. The Maker knows I never, in a million years, would have attributed it to any bizarre templar-mage romantic rivalry. But, if that made him happier than knowing she was just the unlucky brunt of twenty years of anger from the tower, and a burning desire to defend the Wardens at all costs, I wouldn't bother ripping the fantasy away.

When we finally arrived home I had Varel set up quarters for Velenna near our own once I had gotten over the shock of finding out we were imprisoned for nearly a week. "She wants to be a Warden," I told him quietly, "but doesn't know what it means. Let her hear us screaming in the night." He gave me a conspiratorial nod.

I wanted to go straight to my room, burn my robe, and scrub the filth of darkspawn off my skin, but work came first, as always. I told Varel of our adventure, his face growing paler with every word. He agreed to send out scouts to find another entrance to the tunnel the Architect had used.

I finally made it to my room after a few more errands. Anders was sprawled across my turned-down bed in his nightclothes, freshly shaved with wet hair and largely ignoring a book in favor of playing with Ser Pounce-a-lot. "I had some terrified servant draw you a bath, but it may need to be reheated. I don't think she expected to find me in here."

I laughed, dropping clothes as I walked behind the screens. "All the servants are terrified here. I don't know if they think we're prissy nobles who will have them flogged for looking at us, or if they expect us to turn them into toads."

He laughed. I couldn't see him through the bath screen, but could imagine his expression. "I've never met anyone who could turn someone into a toad, have you?"

"Nope. Not even a witch of the wilds I knew could, although she did like to use it as a threat."

He fell silent after that and I focused on scrubbing any trace of the darkspawn from myself. Eventually I had to give up, as I was nearing the point of washing my own skin away in the effort. Once I got out of the tub I realized Anders had fallen asleep, the kitten nestled into his arms. I carefully climbed on the bed, covering us both before I joined him in the Fade.

"Do you all enjoy making guests feel unwelcome," Velenna snapped over breakfast.

"What are you talking about? Was something wrong with your room?"

"Only that it is surrounded by people who feel the need to scream all night." She cast a pointed look at me, "and moan all morning." I blushed. Anders and I had decided to make up for falling asleep so early after we woke.

"Sorry, nightmares are a Warden thing. I can't say more." I shrugged, deciding to ignore the second half of her comment while helping myself to several biscuits and a liberal serving of sausage gravy. Everyone else was wolfing down their food quickly. I grabbed another biscuit before they were gone.

"Is eating like a pigs a Warden trait as well?"

"If you were as hungry as we are you'd eat this way, too." Anders felt the need to punctuate my statement by stealing a biscuit off my plate, finishing it in two bites. I restrained myself from trying to grab it back from him, the urge to stab him with a fork also passing through my mind briefly and being discarded. "I think pig is a bit of an exaggeration, though."

"You have gravy on your nose, Commander," Valenna replied. All right, maybe pig wasn't too far off. This was why I usually showed up at the royal parties after dinner.

"Andraste's ass," I muttered, wiping my face. Once breakfast had been devoured everyone looked at me. "What?" I asked.

"Just wondering what slime filled pit we get to stomp around in today, Mags," Oghren replied.

"Scouts are looking for where that mine might end up; they won't be back for a couple days. Until then there isn't much we can do. I'm headed into the city today, I need to let the merchant guild know they can cross the woods safely again and close up a few loose ends. Anyone who wants can join us, but the day is yours otherwise."

Nathaniel decided to join me, hoping to speak with his sister. Justice wanted to look for Kristoff's wife. She had been less than pleased with the status of her husband's body, not that I could blame her. He was hoping to offer her some degree of peace.

Sigrun wanted to stay back and go through the Keep's library, Oghren decided to do some 'serious drinking,' and Velenna said she was uninterested in seeing a human city. Judging by how she paled and flinched when I mentioned the merchant guild I suspected avoiding them was closer to her real reason.

I slipped my cowl on as I walked towards the stables. "The white horse is mine, you can each take your pick of the others."

"Did you name your horse?" Anders asked me.

"No, Alistair did before he gave her to me. She's named Griffin, but I suspect I would have picked the same thing myself."

"A Grey Warden with a horse named Griffin. Do you also want a mabari named Dane?"

Well, maybe it was a little predictable. I suppose I deserved that. "I had a mabari named Dane. Poor thing died after the archdemon battle. He was tainted, so I tried to save him by making him a Warden. He didn't survive the Joining."

"You tried to put your dog through the Joining?"

"Why not? He was easily twice as smart as a knight who went through it at the same time as me. Poor Dane." I sighed, remembering the way Dane would wag his tail hard enough to shake his whole lower body whenever I gave him bones, and how he slept at the opening of my tent every night, growling at anyone who walked too close. He even bit Zevran once. I should build a statue to that beautiful dog. "Where did you learn to ride a horse?" I asked him, changing the subject.

"First time I escaped. I happened to come across Bann Ferrenly being attacked by bandits and jumped in to help. He gave me a horse as a thank you gift." He pulled an amulet from the collar of his robes. "And this as well. Nice fellow."

We set out for the city. As I expected, Nathaniel was the finest rider of the group, he constantly had to slow his horse so we could catch up. Justice, once he realized he could rely on Kristoff's memories, was almost as good. Anders and I contented ourselves with falling behind, just happy not to fall off.

Once our horses were secured with the guards at the gates Nathaniel left to meet with his sister, asking us to collect him from her house before returning home. Justice headed for the Chantry to look for Kristoff's wife, and Anders followed me on my errands, first to the merchant guild, and then to the inn to look for Nida, the wife of the Warden we found dying in the Architect's lair.

Half an hour later Anders was dragging me from the inn as I cursed and struggled against him. "How aren't you upset?" I demanded as he shoved me onto a bench.

"I am upset, Maggie, but that doesn't mean I'm going to call a recent widow a harpy and threaten to gut her!"

"His last thoughts were of her, even after all he went through. And here she is, not even wondering where he's been, sleeping with some oafish barfly!"

"Well, I suppose we can be grateful he went to his grave not knowing," Anders said, although I suspect he was clutching for any reason to calm me down. I shrugged free of his grasp, curling and uncurling my fists. Anders patted my arm, trying to be reassuring. "Hey, at least if one of us gets captured the other will be right there with matching manacles."

"That is a highly disturbing thought, Anders. We were captured. Just last week, in fact. It was horrible, and both of us went half mad before we even made it from the cell."

"And we got out! But I didn't have to worry about where you were since I was there too. That's me, always looking on the bright side."

"Very reassuring," I told him. "Come on, let's go see how Justice is doing. The longer I sit here the longer I want to run back inside and see if I can make that bitch cry."

"The perfect mindset for entering a Chantry."

The Revered Mother was reading to a small group when we entered. Not seeing Justice, Anders and I took seats to wait for him. I listened to the Chant, it was a passage most Wardens were familiar with- the story of the Tevinter mages who violated the Maker's home, becoming the first darkspawn. When she looked up to survey the audience and saw us a strange expression filtered across the priest's face. It didn't take long to discover why. Instead of continuing with the Canticle of Threnodies and the story of the first blight as everyone expected she flipped pages of her book, suddenly changing to the Canticle of Transfigurations.

"These truths the Maker has revealed to me: As there is but one world, one life, one death, there is but one god, and He is our Maker. They are sinners, who have given their love to false gods."

There were several gasps, and most of the people who had been paying attention were now looking around, confused by her sudden change. Several heads turned to stare at us. "Fantastic," Anders whispered. "She must be a fan of ours."

"Let's just wait outside," I replied, matching his hushed volume. "I can't stand to hear this again." He stood up, offering me a hand. I took it and we walked towards the exit at the back of the Chantry. The priest's voice was increasing in volume, as though she wanted to make sure we could hear her even if we made it to the doors.

"Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him. Foul and corrupt are they who have taken His gift and turned it against His children. They shall be named Maleficar, accursed ones. They shall find no rest in this world or beyond."

I felt Anders tense. I froze mid-step, but he just said "keep walking," taking his hand from mine and putting it on my back to urge me forward. The Revered Mother actually repeated the passage once more before we made it to the doors, as though we couldn't hear her the first time. Or, perhaps, to make sure we knew she read it for our benefit.

"Don't let the old bitch get to you," Anders said as we sat on a bench outside, sounding exactly like someone who had let her get to him. "A lifetime of celibacy is bound to make anyone bitter and hateful. See what I've saved you from?"

"She had to go out of her way to make sure we knew we weren't welcome." I sighed, looking at the doors. "What kind of person makes someone feel unwelcome in a Chantry? I was so tempted to freeze her where she stood."

"Good thing you didn't, or I'm sure our afternoon would have become a lot more exciting, and not in a fun no clothes kind of way. I'm sure to her it was a joke. She clearly has a very unique and sparkling personality that only appears to be that of a heartless bitch if you don't know her."

"I never asked to be born this way."

"Believe me fellow mage, I understand completely," Anders said, taking my hand again. "Do you ever wonder what your life would have been if you weren't?"

"Sometimes," I said. A thought hit me and I laughed bitterly. "Ironically, if I wasn't a mage, I'd likely be dead now. I don't remember much since I was young, but I know my parents were freeholders in West Hill. The entire area was all but destroyed by the blight. I guess that means my parents are probably dead."

"You don't know that, you could look for them."

"I don't even know their names," I said with a shrug, "and I doubt they'd want to meet me. When I started showing signs they called me a monster and locked me in my room until the templars came. Who knows, though? Maybe now that I've saved the world I'm not such a disappointment." I looked over at Anders, "what about you?"

"I'm from Gwaren. I never knew my father, but my mother said he fought in the rebel army. Maybe she met him when King Maric liberated the city. The timing would certainly work out. I don't know, though, that isn't exactly something you tell a small child. When I was eight or nine she married a smith. He was a good man; he always treated me as if I was his actual son, not just his wife's youthful indiscretion. He even knew I was already showing signs at the time, and helped my mother keep me hidden. If I hadn't been a mage, or been caught, I suppose I would have learned that from him."

"Did you ever go back?"

His shoulders slumped further. "My first time out I did. It was too late. They had both died of the plague a couple summers earlier."

"I'm sorry, Anders."

"Thank you," he said, squeezing my hand, his voice thick. "How did they discover you," he asked a moment later, clearly looking for new topic.

"A boy from one of the nearby freeholds was always tormenting me. He'd pull my hair and try to put dirt down my blouse. One day he tried to push me off a hill into a pond. I was so worried my mother would scream at me if I came home wet and filthy, but it didn't matter since the water was frozen solid when I hit it."

"A whole pond?"

"Well, it was a very small pond. More of an extremely large long-term puddle. How'd you get caught?"

"A rat got into our house when I was little. My mother was screaming, and all I could think was that I wanted to be big and strong enough to get rid of it for her. Next thing I knew I hit it with lightning. She helped me hide it for six years. But, when I was twelve I had fallen completely in love with a girl from down the street. You know how it is at that age."

I really didn't, since I'd been in the tower long enough at that age to forget how normal people behaved, but I didn't want to say anything. He went on with his story. "She ended up picking someone else, and he stopped me one afternoon to gloat. He called me a bastard and I punched him, but when he called my mother a whore a bolt of lightning knocked him halfway down the block. They didn't even wait for the Circle to send someone; the Revered Mother had a couple of the Chantry templars take me in that afternoon."

I giggled. It was a surprisingly adorable story, the young Anders defending his mother's honor. I wondered what kind of person he'd be if he had been left alone, if the sarcasm and anger was a part of him, or a gift of the tower. I wondered what I would have been like if I'd had a normal life, for that matter. Not that we could do anything about it now.

We sat quietly on the bench, ignoring the curious glances. I'm sure two mages doing their best "I'm the most miserable sod alive" impressions wasn't a typical sight in Amaranthine. A shadow fell across us and I looked up to see a young woman in priest robes staring at me curiously.

"Excuse me," she said, voice nervous, "are you the Warden?"

Well that wasn't something I expected. "Um, yes?" I said slowly. "I mean, we're both Wardens. Is there something you need?" Warden, save my kitten from darkspawn bandits! I thought crazily, fighting the urge to giggle. People only want to meet me when they need assistance with some gruesome task.

"But you're the one they call the Hero of Ferelden, right?"

I suppressed a wince and reminded myself to hit Alistair again for that title the next time I saw him. He decided on it when he was still mad about my sparing Loghain, and picked it specifically because of the similarities to the Hero of River Dane's own absurd moniker. "Yes, I guess that would be me."

"Oh good!" she exclaimed, dropping to a kneeling position in front of us so we were eye level. "I heard you were in the arling, I've been hoping to find you!"

"I'm sorry, have we met?" I didn't recognize her, but then, I don't think anyone would expect me to recognize every person I'd met over the last three years.

"No, we haven't, but I want to thank you. My family lives in Redcliffe. You saved their lives! My mother watched from the Chantry windows while you fought off the monsters. Said it was like seeing Andraste herself come to life." I tried not to choke. That may have marked the first time in a thousand years someone favorably compared a mage to Andraste. I could just imagine the expression on the Grand Cleric's face.

"You don't need to thank me, I only did what had to be done. Anyone with the skill would have done the same."

"Don't tell me you're more idealistic than a Chantry sister," she giggled. All right, perhaps not anyone would have. Anyone who wasn't a complete monster would have, though.

"My brother fought with the Arl's forces, in Denerim at the last battle," she went on. "He said you saved all the elves of the alienage even though they were willing to throw themselves in the darkspawn's line to help you." See, I thought, this is how insane legends start. The truth was, the elves were ready to fight the darkspawn- with horrible weapons and no armor at all- until we arrived. They just hadn't expected anyone to bother trying to help them and were preparing for the worst. Shianni all but cried with relief when I told her to get everyone to safety.

"That's not exactly how it happened," I protested, but the initiate shook her head, not wanting to hear my arguments. Anders snickered next to me.

"I saw what happened in the Chantry," the sister went on, dropping her voice to a whisper. "The Revered Mother is half in the grave and meaner by the year. She's cruel to everyone, don't take it personally. Just last week a man came for help feeding his children, she refused because he wasn't making his tithes!" I gasped.

"If he couldn't afford bread wouldn't giving what money he did have to the Chantry while his family starves be a bit irresponsible?" Anders asked, shaking his head. "Where is he now? I've been hungry before, I wouldn't wish that on children." I nodded in agreement, and she provided us with the address.

The three of us rose to our feet. "Will you accept the Maker's blessing?" I nodded, going to one knee. After a moment Anders did the same. She raised a hand over us and recited. "Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow. In their blood the Maker's will is written."

"Thank you," I said, rising to my feet. We left the chantry and headed over to the market district, buying a sovereigns worth of food before heading to the address the sister had given us. The man gratefully accepted the food, wide eyed children staring from behind his wife's skirt. "What was your trade?" I asked him. He explained he had been a soldier for Howe, and lost his position when he refused to attack Castle Highever. Anders and I shared a glance.

"We do need more men," Anders pointed out. I nodded.

"Go to Vigil's Keep and tell a man named Captain Garevel you were sent by the Warden Commander to return to duty. Have him speak to me if he has questions."

"You know," Anders said cheerfully as we passed through the market, "it's a pretty sad day when the local maleficar is nicer than the Revered Mother."

A/N: No clue what Bann Ferrenly is Bann of, he never appears in the books or the game that I can recall. But the description of Anders' amulet he wears when you recruit him with says that's who gave it to him in exchange for saving his life.

Hooray for more Chant of Light. I'm figuring a lot of mages are oddly religious since they were brought up surrounded by so much of it. I love working the elaborate mythology and history Bioware created into this.

The Maker loves all who review. ;)