It had been two weeks since Angelle had gone to the Hanged Man and now her bargaining point had finally arrived. She opened the small chest and removed the cloth. Once again she felt an internal conflict as she picked up the small vial of blood. Kinloch Hold had been kind enough to send it to her, no questions asked. Anders' phylactery. This was what she was going to offer him in return for his help. Maker she hoped she was doing the right thing. She put on her civilian clothes; a black corset, black tight pants and a shirt on top of it. She took her daggers, the phylactery and made a sign to Conna to follow her.
She hadn't been to Darktown since that first night. It was almost evening and she hoped that meant that the healer had few patients. She was against apostates. They were endangering other people by taking that risk. But as she went through Darktown and saw the poor and the desperate, she started to doubt herself. What would these people do without him? They would likely die and no one cared, except for him. She almost felt good about giving him his phylactery then he could continue to do all these good deeds in peace. Angelle stopped "Who am I? Everything I thought I knew is being turned upside down. Templars can be cruel and apostates can be harmless?"
She finally found the lit lantern and took a step inside. She had been wrong about the amount of people. There were at least 15 people. She asked Conna to stay outside. She looked around trying to find the healer. Angelle had expected an old man, but it was a young man with red-blonde hair and a sharp chin. She got the feeling she had seen him before, but could not put her finger on it. She sat down on one of the tables and leaned her back against the wall and closed her eyes.
She suddenly woke. She most have dosed of. The mage stood with his back to her in the other end of the room and seemed to be done with his last patient. She stood up and walked slowly towards him. She jumped back when he all of a sudden turned around pointing his staff at her.
"I made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation. Why do you threaten it?"
She smiled gently and was about to say something to make him calm down when she looked into his eyes. The brown tender eyes. The abomination! She felt a sudden adrenalin rush and quickly pulled her daggers.
"YOU? Keep away from me or I will cut your throat." She spat.
"Don't threaten me little girl!" His frown intensified.
"I have seen what you are demon! I will not let you harm anyone again."
A sudden realisation seemed to strike his eyes.
"You are the templar from the Gallows!"
They starred at each other for what seemed like an eternity, both struggling with whether or not to attack. He was demon and yet he healed and protected those who had nowhere else to go. She was a hand of the chantry, but she had stopped him from committing a terrible atrocity. Angelle starred into his eyes and then she remembered all the people she saw on the way to his clinic. He couldn't possibly a monster... not entirely. She lowered her weapons.
"This is stupid. I didn't come here to stop you from curing the sick."
He still kept his staff pointed at her.
"Are you going to lower that thing?" She looked at him expecting him to lower his weapon.
"You just threaten my life! There is no way I'm trusting you templar." He growled.
"Alright." She threw her daggers away from her. "Is that better?"
"You could be hiding a weapon anywhere. I will not risk trusting you." His eyes began to get a flare of blue.
"Maker!" She sighed loudly. She took of her boots, her shirt and her trousers. Anders looked at her with a confused and baffled look. When she was wearing nothing but here smallclothes as she held her arms out from her body and started to turn.
"There! I'm alone, unarmed and undressed. Do I still look like a threat to you?"
Anders still didn't trust her, but this scenario was too bizarre for him to keep up his defences. He lowered his weapon as he gave a smile and tried to suppress a chuckle. Angelle felt relief and as the tension in her body started to dissipate she realized what she had just done. She felt herself becoming flushed and embarrassed. She looked into his warm eyes and she began to laugh uncontrollably. "Maker, what was I thinking?" When she regained control over her laughter, she wiped her eyes for tears.
"So, do you mind if I put my clothes back on or do you still think I'm threat?" She teased.
"I haven't decided yet. Besides I like the view." He gave her a small smile.
"Well, this show is over. If you are that desperate to see naked flesh I would suggest the Blooming Rose."
Hawke started to put her clothes back on, constantly watched by her would-be-attacker. She wondered if he didn't trust her or if he was taken in the scenery. It made her stomach turn and she didn't know why. Men had seen her like this before when she had been travelling with them, doing business for the order. "Well, we did just threaten to kill one another. Tension is to be expected." When she was dressed she felt the glass vial in her pocket. Angelle couldn't possibly give this to him now. Despite the fact he was a healer, he was also a dangerous abomination. She couldn't risk giving this to him if he hurt someone else... she wouldn't be able to live with her self.
"So would you mind telling me what you are doing here if you aren't going to arrest me?" He frowned.
She had prepared a well wrapped veil of deception and lies before coming here. But he had seen her in the Gallows and she didn't dare give him his phylactery. Perhaps a certain amount of honesty was necessary, but she could not mention the Divine and she could not come off as a mage sympathizer. When he was caught there could be no ties to her or the Divine.
"My name is Angelle Hawke, Seeker of the Chantry. I'm conducting an investigation of the templars here."
"If you are investigating the templars, what brought you to me? If you are going to bring me to the Gallows, I warn you... I am not coming voluntarily."
"Catching apostates is the templars responsibility, not mine. Unless you become a greater threat to this city, you have nothing to fear from me." finishing the sentence in her head. "... for the moment."
"Then why are you here, little girl?"
That same distrust was flurrying in his eyes. He clearly used "little girl" as a means of being threatening and provoking her at the same time. But she would not fall for that. She refused to give in to pride.
"As a part of the investigation I need to understand why mages are fleeing the Circle in such an alarming rate."
He gave a bitter laugh.
"As if being locked up like criminal wasn't enough? The right that every woman and man in Thedas has to be free, taken from us just because we are born with magic. Our gifts are granted by the Maker there is no reason for us not to live as free as other men."
"Mages are dangerous and can easily resort to magic in order to achieve their goals."
"Just as easy as it is for a man to resort to a sword."
"But mages are easily controlled by demons. You seem generous and kind, but you have also resorted to summoning a demon."
She wish she had bit her tongue, there was no way of knowing how he was going to react. Would he summon the demon she had seen in the Gallows?
"You are wrong... but not far wrong. This is hard to explain." His expression change to one of worry and shame. Angelle just stood there waiting for him to continue.
"When I was with the Wardens in Amaranthine, a few years ago, I met a Spirit of Justice, who was trapped outside the fade."
"A fadespirit you mean? The kind spirit healers use?"
"Yes. We became friends, but to live outside the fade... he needed a host. I offered to help him. We were going to work together. Bring justice to every child ripped away from his mother to be taken to the circle."
"Fade spirits are suppose to be kind and noble, the spirit I saw in the Gallows was nothing like that."
His eyes became heavy with regret and Angelle almost felt sorry for him... almost.
"No... I had too much anger. Justice thought he would overcome that, but he has become warped and twisted by my rage. He is no longer my friend Justice, but a force of vengeance and he has no grasp of mercy. So when I see things that have always outraged me... When I lose all control over myself... he comes out."
"And he was the one who attacked the templars that night?"
"Yes... When he takes over... I only realize after what I might have done." Angelle could see tears forming in his eyes.
"You are right... I'm a demon... the same as any abomination... after what I did to that poor girl." A tear rolled down his cheek and Angelle felt just as bad for him now as that night in the Gallows.
"What you did to that girl?"
"You saw what I did. How can I live with myself after I killed that girl?" He made a small sob. He didn't remember what happened? He thought he had killed Ella?
"You didn't kill her. You almost did, but when I stepped in you regained control. Ella is fine."
"I... I didn't? She is fine? I didn't harm her at all?"
"She was frightened, but other than that she didn't have a scratch."
He took a deep breath of relief and his entire body reacted as if an enormous weight had been lifted of his shoulders.
"Thank you..." He whispered.
"Perhaps I should leave, you have been through enough today it seems." She gave a little smile and turned to walk out the clinic.
"Wait!" Angelle turned around at looked at Anders who walked after her with a piece of paper.
"I'm sorry for putting all this on you. It's just... we have hardly met and I feel like I know you." Anders looked into her emerald eyes and she felt her heart pounding. He gave her the piece of paper.
"If you really want to know why mages flee the circle, this might give you the answers you seek."
"Thank you." She smiled at him and quickly left the clinic.
That night while lying in bed she read what appeared to be his manifesto. If the templars were to find this he would be hanged. Anders had taken an enormous risk entrusting this to her. Angelle couldn't decide if he was suicidal, insane or extremely passionate, but from what she had seen today it was probably a combination of all of these. "I feel like I know you" His words kept going through her mind. She had let a dangerous, possessed, apostate walk free and why? Because she felt sorry for him? Because she also felt that she knew him? How many lives had she endangered? But how many would be saved if he was allowed to continue to heal? Angelle was so tired of all this internal conflict, but she had to face it. She had to remain strong.