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You were just returning from a successful night at the Hanged Man when you practically collided with someone. Luckily, your lute was clutched to your chest and the only damage you received was a sore back and skinned elbows.

“Fen’Harel! I’m sooo sorry!” The petite elf helped you up quickly, and though it was dark enough you couldn’t recognize her features, her voice was enough to give her away. It was Merrill.

You laughed and couldn’t resist but to confirm your suspicions. “Lost?”

“Is it that obvious?” she asked, fiddling with her hands.

“Let’s just say, I had a feeling…” You grinned at her before extending a hand and introducing yourself.

“I’m Merrill,” she said, taking the hand and shaking it weakly. She was just the type to have a weak handshake, you thought to yourself.

“Do you need help getting back to the Alienage?” you asked and she gave a huge sigh of relief.

“Fen’Harel, yes! I can’t make this or that of anything, especially when it’s dark like this? Has it always been this dark in Lowtown? You would think they would put up street lanterns or something. Ohp! I’m rambling, sorry.” She held a delicate hand to her mouth, flushing.

You laughed. “It’s fine. It is quite dark. Let’s get you back home. I can take you most of the way, since I live close by.”

“Thank you, lethallan,” she said, bowing her head, and with that, you two began your journey, albeit a very short one, to the Old City Slums, where you planned to direct her to the Alienage. However, you didn’t make it very far before a dark mass blocked your path.

Bandits.

“Stop right there, ladies,” their leader called.

“Wait, didn’t Varric say--?” one spoke up, but the leader held up a hand to cut him off.

“Nah, this can’t be the one he paid us for. He said she’d be alone, but there’s two of ‘em!”

The group gave calls of agreement and reached for their weapons eagerly.

“Well, boys, let’s rape and plunder!”

They charged, and you grabbed Merrill’s hand to pull her and run, instead, she used her main hand to grab the staff from her back. “You will not hurt my friend!” She called, and a glyph of pink appeared on the floor that you recognized as the Glyph of Repulsion. As soon as the bandits stepped on it, the whole group went flying back, and many of them hit their head, knocking them out.

“Oh s**t, she’s a mage!” One of the remaining bandits called.

“Let’s get out of here!”

The rest of the group ran off, leaving only the unconscious bodies on the ground.

After a few moments of you just standing there, holding Merrill’s hand, you let out a huge sigh of relief. “Thanks for that. I thought we’d be done for!”

Merrill merely squeezed your hand and smiled. “Don’t worry, lethallan, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

You could sense trouble was brewing before it even simmered to the surface. It only took those three men to walk in and surround a dark girl, Isabela, for you to know that you were going to get involved. She had been waiting at Hanged Man all night, drinking tankard after tankard of ale. You were sure that even after your shift ended in a few minutes that she would still be there, at the bar, into the hours of dawn.

You couldn’t hear what they were saying, but you didn’t need to. A fight was going to break out, and you planned to side with Isabela to stop it. And sure enough, the tallest man threw the first punch, but Isabela caught his wrist and twisted his arm back, causing him to cry out in pain. She kicked him into one of his other men before a third rushed up from behind her and grabbed her. Throwing her head back, she broke his nose, causing him to release his grip on her before she elbowed him in the gut. He curled over in a stupor.

The second man pushed his leader off of him before he stood and prepared to charge, but you were already behind him, and with one fell swoop, you cracked his head on your lute, which surprisingly sustained the blow. Isabela looked up from where the man was crumpled on the floor and gave you a serpentine smile.

“Thanks, sweet cheeks, but I didn’t need your help,” she said, stepping over the bodies to meet you. “With a pretty face like yours, I’m sure you have enough problems.”

“Not enough, apparently,” you joked and introduced yourself.

“Isabela,” she replied, shaking your hand with the same firmness she must have once held the wheel of her ship, before raising an eyebrow in your direction, as if really seeing you for the first time. “You’re the bard here.”

“That I am,” you said, grinning.

“What’s a bard doing helping little old me?” She walked back to her drink, taking a swig.

“Us girls got to stick together in a place like this,” you skipped over the unconscious bodies to her as she laughed at your comment. “Besides, just looking at those men pissed me off.”

“Hah, I think we’ll get along just fine, pet. Oi! Another round for the ladies!”

CHAPTER TEN – Isabela

Chatter filled the Hanged Man and the table of Hawke and his party. You decided to give your voice a short break and meet them, but it wasn’t long before you had shirked your duties completely and were sitting, talking, and laughing with the group. It was about half-way through your night of fun that Aveline patted your hand from across the table to get your attention.

“I’ve heard a lot about you,” she began. “Some say you may be the best minstrel on this side of the seas.”

“Oh?” you quirked an eyebrow. “And who exactly am I competing with?”

Aveline tilted her head and squared her shoulders. “That’s just what I heard.”

You laughed a bit, and after calming down, you held up your hands in mock surrender. “Forgive me, I did not mean offense. May I ask who you’ve heard this exaggeration from?”

“My husband,” she said. “He overheard some talk between the locals.”

The alcohol had filled your system, and though you could put up a decent enough front, you couldn’t deny that you were becoming a bit tipsy. You took a swig of ale then held up your tankard, tilting your head in a mock-bow. “Send Donnic my regards.”

Aveline’s eyes narrowed dangerously, but before she could pursue your knowledge further and you could regret your blabbering, a second tankard of ale slid in front of you, followed by Isabela sliding to your side. She snaked a hand around your waist, pulling you close to her, but it only took a few moments for her to realize she’d interrupted something between you and red-haired Guard-Captain. Upon this realization, she grinned wickedly.

“Oh, were you in the middle of something? Big, girl Aveline discussing guard business with my pretty, little pet?”

“I was actually just asking her a question,” the Guard-Captain said, seemingly a little miffed.

“Ohhh, a question? How delightful! Well, I actually have a question for her too, if you don’t mind. I think mine’s much more important than whatever yours was.”

Aveline folded her arms and leaned back in her chair. “Alright, whore, spit it out.”

You decided to drink some of your ale while Isabela took no time to lean in, so her lips were grazing your earlobe, and whisper, “What would you say to leaving these blokes and taking that cute little arse of yours into my room?”

You choked on began coughing violently on your ale. Aveline set down her tankard of ale and looked at you and Isabela with scrutiny. “What did you do this time? The poor thing’s redder than a tomato.”

“Easy there, Songbird,” Varric said from across the table, while the rest of the group just stared at you. “You alright?”

“I’ll take that as a ‘no,’ then?” Isabela said, grinning wickedly at you.

“I’m fine,” you said, as the coughing died down. “You’re fine. I – oh ******** it, let’s just go.”

And with that, you grabbed Isabela’s hand and lead her into her bedroom.

After your dream with Justice, you were determined to just talk to Anders, if not to help him, then at least to get the apparition off your back. One day, you finally found the time and worked up the nerve to do it. Right before your shift, you decided, so you’d have an exit route, if needed. However, when you walked inside the Darktown clinic, you found it strangely deserted. Only Anders remained, huddled over his desk at the back of the room.

“I’m not seeing patients at the moment,” he called across the room, not even turning around. “Come back tomorrow and I’ll see what I can do for you.”

You crossed the room quietly as he spoke, stopping behind him. “And…what if I’m not a patient?” You asked a bit timidly.

“Oh,” Anders seemed to recognize your voice and turned around in his chair, looking up at you. “I wasn’t expecting you. What brings you here?”

“Just in the area.” You said nonchalantly.

“Just wandering around Darktown?”

“Okay, okay,” you laughed a bit. “If you want the truth, I was on my way to work when I had the feeling I should come here.”

“It’s not always good to listen to your feelings,” he said, turning back to his desk. His words came out slowly, like he was ashamed of them, or himself. “Mine have been plaguing me all day. It’s the reason the clinic is closed and I’m sitting here, wallowing rather than helping people.”

You put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey now, none of that talk. You’re doing the best you can. That’s all anyone can ever ask. You’re doing a great service to these people. I’m sure they’d understand.” You looked around for a chair, and when you found one, you pulled it up off to the side of him, facing him, and when he turned to face you, the two of your knees touched. “And as for the feelings part, I find when it’s not best to listen, then it’s best to talk. Tell me what’s on your mind?”

“I’m not sure you’d understand,” he said, looking away. “You’re so normal, I just—”

“Hey,” you grabbed his hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Try me.”

Anders eyes gave away the internal battle he had as to whether or not he should trust you, but after a while, he took a deep breath, then, “…It’s the Templars.”

You frowned. “What did they do this time?”

“There was a boy…A very small boy I saw on a regular basis. His mother came to me very frightened. He had magic, and she asked if I could train him, help him control his power and make sure no demons came to harm him. I accepted and put him under my instruction and protection. Last night, the Templars were doing door-to-door searches. I’m not sure how, but they found him.”

“What did they do to him?”

“They took him to the Circle,” Anders shook his head. “Though, there was talk that because of his great power at such a young age that Knight-Commander Meredith would have him executed. I just found out today from his mother.”

As the reality of the situation sunk in, you felt your blood run cold. “Maker help us,” you breathed, casting your gaze downward and shaking your head.

“I’m sorry,” Anders said quickly. “I shouldn’t have burdened you with this.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s…just so terrible…”

“I know.” He gave your hand a squeeze and it was only then you realized you never let go of his. When you said nothing, Anders followed your gaze and seemed to realize the same thing as you. Quickly, he retracted his grip. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, no, it’s fine,” you stammered. “I—It was just unexpected. But it was nice! You have nice hands.”

“Nice hands?” Anders’s eyes twinkled in amusement.

“Yes, they’re not soft, they’re calloused, but the way you touch with them,” you reached out and held his hands for emphasis, “is soft and gentle. A true healer’s touch!”

Anders smiled sadly. “You’re too kind.” Then he looked down at where the two of you connected. “These hands have killed as many people as they’ve healed…” He seemed very solemn about the fact, almost regretful. “I…almost killed a girl once.”

“Were you trying to heal her?” you asked.

“No, I was trying to save her from the Templars, then Justice…Vengeance got out of hand and I—”

“Hey…” You caressed his cheek, his stubble prickly against your calloused fingertips and soft palm. “It’s a thing of the past now.”

He smiled at you, and as you gazed into his amber eyes, you swore that they twinkled like the stars that filled the sky as night fell upon the two of you.

I'm trying to join,but I'm confused by the last question

Name our second most popular story category

and I'm like..@_@ IDK! what is it so I can join and help you out!

Ma serannas lethallan. Will that link take me to the place where I can vote for you?

How exactly do I do it lol. I'm pretty dumb when it comes to new sites lol.

Done..I spelled my name wrong as a username lol. I eagerly await the next chapters!