As they stood frozen in the destruction of Kirkwall, there was an ominous feeling in the air of the burning city. The smell of smoke, the heat of the flames, and the cries of templars, mages, and innocents were nearly deafening in the small city. It was a sight that Hawke and her companions had prayed they would never see but here it was. Anders sat with his back to Hawke and the rest of the gang, not willing to look them in the eyes after the destruction he had caused.

"There can be no peace." He had proclaimed only moments before the chantry and everyone inside of it had been destroyed. All that was left of the grand building that had stood there only moments ago was the ash that rained down on them.

Meredith gave Anders a disgusted look before turning to the champion and saying: "I'll leave this... murderer to you."

Anders didn't face them. He listened quietly to their judgment and waited as they made the final decision of whether or not to kill him. He no longer cared. He had started the mage rebellion and whether it be for better or worse, it was here.

"Come with us and defend the mages," Hawke said softly, her brown eyes showed vulnerability for the first time in the whole situation. They had been lovers for many years now and it was clear that despite what he'd done, she still loved him with every bit of her heart.

"No!" Sebastian growled, causing all of them to look towards him. "You cannot let this abomination walk free. He dies, or I am returning to Starkhaven. And I will bring such an army with my return that there'll be nothing left of Kirkwall for these maleficarum to rule!"

Hawke turned to him with hate in her eyes and was about to tell him that he was not to interfere when another voice stopped her. "You would shed the blood of both the innocents of Kirkwall and Starkhaven in order to sate your vengeance?"

The group turned to see a woman with cendre hair that was braided to the right side and hung to her waist. She had high cheekbones, cream-colored skin, a lithe figure, and striking teal eyes that were directed at the prince. She would have been a beautiful stranger had it not been for the uniform that she wore.

The warden attire was enough to draw attention but the sight of the griffons on her staff showed just who she was. The teal eyes were a striking family trait but her youth confirmed that she was First Warden Farell's daughter and if she chose, would take over after the Calling claimed him.

While the rage was still clear in Sebastian's eyes, he offered no more words of hate. Instead, he was frozen as he stared at the face that had haunted his dreams for the last seven years. "You're-"

"Now is not the time for explanations." She interrupted with venom in her tone. "Either flee to Starkhaven and be the selfish bastard you sound like or take that bow and defend the people that you have been helping since you came here."

Her expression softened for only a moment in silent condolence between the two. No words were needed. He knew her well enough to know what she was saying that didn't need to be voiced for him to hear.

Anders stood up and offered her a nod of appreciation for her efforts. "Thank you."

She turned her heated gaze on him, almost as if his voice was a physical reminder of what had just occurred moments ago. "I am still not accepting of what you did but I will not abandon a fellow Warden... or a friend."

She picked up the staff he had dropped as he awaited his fate and handed it to him. Hawke pulled her daggers out and looked towards the destruction further into the flames. "Will you help us?"

"I'm at your aid, Champion." The young Warden proclaimed as her staff began to glow like the teal of her eyes. "Though I do expect a formal introduction after this."

Isabela snorted in the background before saying with a sultry voice: "I'd love to have one myself, sweet thing."

The girl rolled her eyes before her hands began to glow and a powerful blast of ice extinguished the flames that blocked their path into the fray. She was about to rush in when Varric let out a voice of confusion. "I thought Warden's didn't involve themselves in things like this?"

"We do when it's another of our own." The girl said before rushing off without another word. Hawke and Anders took off after her while Sebastian stood there, still frozen in his tracks.

Varric turned to look at the prince as he aimed his crossbow into the flames. "I take it you two know each other."

"It's... a long story." Was the only explanation that Sebastian offered. There was no other way to put it. There was no short version of how the two knew each other. No simple explanation to how it felt like ice stinging his very soul at the sight of her.

Varric, being the voice of reason for a change, quickly woke him up as he said: "That story will have to wait, Choirboy."

That it would...

***Hey everyone! I have been going back and forth on whether or not to write this but after putting it on A03, I decided I would give it a shot. I wanted to do something different with my writing and I am in love with the Dragon Age Series ❤ Anyway, let me know if you all would like to see this as a full story or not because I would love to hear what you think! Thank you for reading and have a great day!