A/N: Alright! I'm back! I had school and stuff and it took up ALL OF MY TIME. For those of you that have stuck around, I thank you. Quick notes, 1, I know that the quest referenced here is in Act 1 when I've set this in Act 2, but whatever, and 2, the journal entries, they don't work all the time. I think I might start doing flashbacks here and there, yadda yadda, you know. If anyone is terribly, terribly upset about the lack of flanking journal entries, I apologize. Oh! And my typos, please forgive them, I try to catch everything, but some stuff slips through. Now, read on!

The air had warmed drastically in the time Marian had been out and about. The cold, early morning chill had slowly morphed to a calm heat. Things at the Hanged Man had progressed as they normally did; patrons took care of their business and then most of them moved along. This time of day those that stayed were few and far between, so Hawke and company had managed to acquire their own table with no trouble.

Aside from Hawke, the usual suspects were present, Varric, Isabela, and the ever-brooding Fenris. In truth, Fenris's presence had not been required, and though he refused to explain it to them, his motives for being there were noble. In the last few years he had come to see these people as his friends, even with Hawke's particular form of magic. Marian, however, he saw as a threat. Even if they didn't understand her heinous potential for evil, he did. He had watched Danarius drive men to madness and back for his own amusement, seen people stripped of every ounce of meaning, torn apart until they took their own lives. That was his favorite way to kill, it wasn't a necessity, it was a game. How long, how hard would they fight it? Fenris had refrained from mentioning it the day before, it was such an awful thing. The power mages like this had over the weak and unprepared was astonishing, but at the very least, Fenris could be there. He knew what that magic felt like the instant it gripped your mind, and he could fight off this witch if he had to.

The group sat discussing the day's plans. They were simple enough, after meeting with Aveline and Sebastian at the Keep a small group consisting of Hawke, Isabela, Fenris and Marian were going out to rescue the Viscount's son. Isabela had insisted that they take Marian in Anders' place, and Hawke was relatively keen on the idea. He also had a flair for drama, and he would take it anywhere he could find it, or create it. So when Fenris had showed up Hawke was more than okay with letting him take Sebastian's spot on the day's roster. It was not such a terrible thing, after all, Sebastian was complaining about how he had better things to do that day.

There was a slight issue though, Marian was nowhere to be found. Isabela had finally picked the lock on her door and discovered that she truly was missing. Hawke had decided that they would simply wait; they were a lively enough group and the time would pass with ease. He was correct, even Fenris's arrival had not hindered their enthusiastic momentum, but after a while it became evident that Anders was late as well. He wasn't yet aware of the change in plans, and even though it was normal for him to take his sweet time getting there, this was past the average delay.

"Now where in the world could that hot piece of ass have gotten off to?" Hawke mused aloud.

"Hawke! She's not even twenty!" Isabela scolded. Hawke was usually incredibly open about his sexuality, but the girl was a decade his minor.

He cracked a wide grin, "I was talking about Anders."

"Your... relationship... with him is, at times, disturbing." Varric remarked over Isabela's chuckle.

"More so than your obsession with an inanimate object?"

"Hey, there's a difference between obsession and love!" Varric dramatically corrected. They had had this conversation many a time, and the result was nearly always the same. Either Varric would proclaim his love for Bianca, or Hawke would point out that there was nothing wrong with 'appreciating beauty', or whatever crude version of that sentiment he chose.

Fenris let out an aggravated sigh, "Shouldn't we be more concerned with the missing mages?"

"Nah, with any luck they've found each other and they're on their way right now." Hawke answered, flippant as always.

"Two dangerous mages out gallivanting around, what could possibly go wrong?" Fenris shook his head.

"Anders, maybe, but Marian is positively harmless." Isabela sounded condescending.

"If she is what she says she is, she is about as far from harmless as one can get." Things were getting heated again. Varric and Hawke could both see that this was going to be a tenuous subject between the two of them for some time.

"And you're so much better? Do you really think you can tell me that her body count is higher than yours?"

"I do not have demons whispering to me in my sleep."

"Oh, and that obviously makes it okay." The two were so consumed by their argument that they failed to see the missing party enter, together as Hawke so ingeniously deduced. Of course, Varric and Hawke had noticed them immediately, but had collectively decided to refrain from speech.

"If this is the conversation I think it is, well, I'm glad to see you're finally on my side Isabela." Anders was charming as usual.

"There you are!" Isabela exclaimed, ignoring his statement, and as he soon found out, him as well. "Where have you been, Marian?"

Marian had thus far been a quiet shadow, and she wasn't quite certain how to explain her absence. Luckily, she didn't have to as Anders took it upon himself to answer for her. He wrapped what she saw as a friendly arm around her shoulders in a slightly odd side hug, "Why she came to see me, of course!"

Marian genuinely giggled. She was thankful for the escape. Anders knew that she'd prefer everyone not know she had just wandered into Darktown and killed a man, and the whole experience had brought the two a little closer together. Marian was already starting to think that he was her first real friend. Sure, she liked Isabela, but there was something about his warm smile and the way he looked at her that drew her to him.

"Wonderful." Fenris muttered under his breath, which made Anders beam even brighter.

Anders took longer than he probably should have to release his vague grip on Marian, and everyone but Marian noticed. Varric took the awkward opportunity to hop off his chair and introduce himself. "Varric Tethras, good to finally meet you, I've heard so much about you."

Marian seemed shocked for a moment before she shook his outstretched hand, "Oh! Yes! Varric! The dwarf! I certainly haven't met very many dwarves, but I've heard they're either ornery or feisty, and they do wonderful work with stone and metal. Do you work with stone or metal, or are you one of the merchant dwarves? Or you could be with the Carta. I've heard a lot about the Carta and-"

"Kid! Calm down." Varric cut her off. In her jubilation at meeting a dwarf everything had come out as a single sentence, and near the end she seemed to be talking to herself more than to him, "To answer your question- or questions, my family is bunch of stinking merchants."

She stopped to think for a moment, "Do they really smell all that bad?"

Varric chuckled, "Oh yes! Every one of them."

As jovial as Hawke usually was, he couldn't help but stand up and cut the conversation short, "Alright! Are you all ready to go, or what?" He was well aware of something that everyone else seemed to be missing, Aveline. She was going to be pissed that they were running so late.

The group's reactions varied from Marian's adorable nod and smile to Fenris's annoyed grunt, but the result was the same; everyone got up and headed for the Keep, save Varric of course, who had apparently found something better to do with his day. As they walked Marian kept quiet. She was still staring at the architecture, but this time she was also covertly discerning the group's dynamics. In the time it took them to get to the Keep, all she had discovered was that everyone but Fenris seemed to be comic relief. She came to the conclusion that her limited contact with anyone other than her father and Nina didn't exactly lend to a wonderful grasp of social concepts.

When they entered the Keep, Isabela and Anders had to practically drag Marian along, she was so enthralled with the new building. "Is it going to be like this everywhere we go?" Fenris skeptically questioned Hawke as the other three lagged behind.

"Like what?" Hawke feigned ignorance.

"You know what I mean, Hawke. She is an absolute fool. She acts like she's never seen a city before this."

"What if she hasn't?" Hawke speculated.

"That's preposterous. Whether she looks it or not she's a grown woman, of course she's seen a city before."

"And that is presumptuous. Isabela is right, Fenris, you need to at least give her a chance."

"That is not what I was talking about." Fenris gritted his teeth.

"Oh, but it is! And don't argue with me, I do know everything after all." Hawke grinned and Fenris let out an exasperated sigh in return. The point could be argued no further though because they had come upon the Viscount's door and a very irritated Aveline was waiting for them.

"You are late." She stated after a moment of intense silence.

"Well yeah, blame Anders." Hawke deflected.

"No, no! Don't blame me. I had nothing to do with it, Aveline." Anders' humor did not play well on her.

"I don't care why you're late, you're late. That's it. That bitch from the Winters was already here and if you want any chance at beating her to Saemus Dumar you better turn the hell around, now." She was far more upset than Hawke had expected her to be, but then again, he could see how the Viscount's son coming home mangled by a group of mercenaries might wind up affecting everyone more than a little harshly. Hawke just nodded and motioned everyone back towards the door, finding that now was not the time for introductions. Marian was not upset of course; she understood the urgency in Aveline's voice.

So they headed out to the Wounded Coast, conversation along the way consisted of Isabela talking about how Aveline wasn't all that bad, though no one had really said she was, and Anders lecturing Marian on how to avoid Templars, much to Fenris's dismay. Hawke was content to watch how things would unfold; in fact, his greatest source of amusement was in watching how Fenris reacted to the banter between the other two mages. The general emotion seemed to be abhorrence, but from time to time he almost looked distraught, much like Carver used to when his siblings had gone about practicing their magic.

Eventually the site of Saemus's apparent 'rescue' came into view. It was obvious that the Winters far outnumbered the small party, and that in no way could they simply leave Saemus there. Even from the distance he seemed distraught and obviously was refusing to return to Kirkwall with them.

"So, I assume you want go about this the usual way, stab first, questions later?" Isabela asked.

Hawke was silent for a long while, but no one interrupted his thought. As odd as he was, when it came to battle he was very efficient and surprisingly intelligent. Finally, he spoke, "These are all sell-swords, hired hands that just do what they're told. I don't think they all need to die because they were hired by the wrong person." No one argued because they were all aware of Hawke's mercenary background, except for Marian of course, but she didn't particularly care.

"Well how do you expect to get all of them away from the one person that does need to die?" Fenris was unsupportive, and when he heard Hawke's plan he would be even more so.

"I have an idea. Marian? Do you think you can handle this?" Hawke called on Marian, wanting to see her supposed abilities first-hand.

"I- um, yes! You want the mercenaries gone, and the nasty woman and the Viscount's son to stay, right?"

"Right!" Hawke agreed, "You can do that?"

Marian smiled, already feeling appreciated though she had yet to do anything, "Of course!"

"No! That is a terrible idea!" Fenris protested.

"So you would rather kill everyone here than give Marian a chance to prove herself?" Anders mocked him.

"That is not what I- ugh. I suppose it is your choice, Hawke." Fenris sighed, defeated. It was obvious that he was the only one wary of Marian.

"And I choose yes! Are you ready, Marian?" Hawke asked.

Marian simply nodded and they began their approach.

Saemus and the woman in charge were having a heated argument. Saemus was upset that she had killed his friend, and she was threatening to cut out his tongue. There was a fresh corpse at Saemus's feet, and he stood over it as though to protect him, even though he was Qunari. Saemus was the first to speak as Hawke and company arrived. "Thank the Maker you're here! I'll go back home, I don't care anymore, but I will notgo with them."

"Like you have a choice, brat." The woman rebutted his proposal and turned to Hawke, "Sod off, you. We got 'ere first. Better luck next time."

Marian was frightened, being in the midst of a crowd this large, all poised to strike, was one of the most terrifying things she had ever encountered. It almost seemed as though she was going to freeze up and for a moment it was as though she did. She focused on her target and tried to remember that she wasn't alone. Everything was silent. Just as her companions started to grow agitated, the woman unexpectedly turned to look at Marian. She stared at her and squinted as though she was confused, and then she smiled.

"What is your name?" Marian asked in a soft, caring tone.

"Ginnis," she answered, "my name is Ginnis."

"That is a lovely name, Ginnis." Marian answered.

"Commander- what are you-" One of the Winters expressed his bafflement at this short interaction.

"Shut up!" Ginnis snapped at him, "Can't you see I'm havin' a conversation?"

"Ginnis?" Marian recalled her attention.

"Yes, what do you need?" Ginnis replied.

"I need you to send all these men home. Can you do that for me?"

"I- but I need them here, don't I?" Ginnis was unable to even recall why they were there or what they were doing.

"No. You don't. You are strong enough to do anything on your own, aren't you?" Marian preyed on Ginnis's bravado.

"You're right." Ginnis turned to her second-in-command, "Take everyone back to camp an' call off the reinforcements!" She barked.

"But-" He began to protest.

"No buts! Go!" She shouted.

"She's tricking you!" He argued.

"Go!" Ginnis repeated as she turned back to Marian, "She would never do that to me."

The man looked thoroughly bewildered, but saw no point in arguing with her further. Ginnis stayed transfixed on Marian as her small army filtered out of the area, and everyone remained silent until they had all gone. Marian turned to her allies, "Hawke? Would you?"

Hawke stepped forward, ready to finish the woman off, but he stopped short. Her eyes were almost glazed over and she didn't take any notice of him, even though it was relatively clear that he was going to kill her. "What- What exactly did you do to her?"

"Yes, Marian, what did you do to her?" Fenris snarled.

Marian answered articulately, "I made her fall in love with me. People will do anything when they're in love."

"That's… kind of awesome, actually." Hawke smiled, but the other's reactions were dissimilar.

Isabela was skeptical, but shared some of Hawke's awe. Anders showed pride in his fellow mage. Fenris was disgusted.

"Does she not realize what you just said? That you made this happen?" Isabela questioned.

"She might have a few minutes ago, but I have focused her so entirely on her emotions that she has blocked out the rest of the world. She hears my voice but she does not understand." Marian was unnervingly calm, "Could you kill her now, Hawke? I doubt she'll feel a thing."

Hawke nodded and a few moments later it was all over. Ginnis was dead. Saemus stepped forward, "Thank you for rescuing me, Hawke. I am sure my father has a wonderful reward waiting for you."

"You should thank Marian. This would have been a lot bloodier if not for her." Hawke replied.

Marian moved toward him and offered to shake his hand, but he cringed back from her. "Stay away from me. I saw what you did. Stay away!" Saemus sounded both scared and angry.

Marian was crushed. Tears welled up in her eyes and her face clearly displayed her sadness. "Hey!" Anders angrily interjected, "That woman killed your friend there, she was going to cut your tongue out, and you're upset with the woman who saved you?"

"Anders, it is alright. I am used to it." Her voice was still as sweet as it always was, but it was somewhat lower than it should have been.

"No, Marian, this isn't acceptable."

"I am inclined to agree, but I suppose there is nothing we can do. Come on, Saemus, your father is waiting." Hawke was quite upset by Saemus's behavior and almost regretted not letting him go back to the Keep with the Winters.

The walk back was longer than the walk there and it was relatively silent. Even after they left Saemus at the Keep things remained melancholy. Marian's enthusiasm still hadn't returned by the time they reached the Hanged Man. The group stopped outside the entrance because it was supper time and there was no chance at hearing one another inside.

"Well, we did what we set out to do." Hawke stated.

"Indeed." Fenris shook his head, upset for an entirely different reason than the others.

"When do you need us again, Hawke?" Isabela asked.

Hawke was the king of the turn-around; at the mention of a later event he perked up. "Ruffians! We'll run around and beat up ruffians! It'll be perfect. Fenris and Marian, you're both coming with, and then, I think…"

"Aveline, obviously." Fenris finished his thought, indifferent to the excursion.

"No, no, no!" Hawke protested, "Sebastian! And then after that he'll head back to the Chantry and we'll pick up Merril and go see if there's any slavers camped out in Darktown, and there always are!"

"Merril? Really?" Fenris found a problem with being stuck in the company of three mages, all with their own major downfalls.

"Yes, Merril! It will be phenomenal. Then we'll meet everyone back here for drinks!" Hawke was incredibly excited with the prospect of the next day's events.

"I don't drink." Marian spoke up.

"Not even water?" Hawke asked with a smirk, which garnered a similar one from Marian, though she quickly returned to her depressed state. "No objections?" Hawke asked rhetorically, giving no time for anyone to voice an opinion. "Then it's decided! See you all sometime tomorrow!"

Hawke practically skipped away, Fenris following after him (it was a shame they lived in the same direction) with hardly any recognition of a goodbye.

"Well, we should head in then, I'm sure Varric will want to know of your daring feat today, Marian!" Isabela attempted to lighten the situation.

"I… actually didn't sleep much last night. I think I'm going to head straight to bed, I do have to be up tomorrow, you know?" Marian forced a smile.

"I do." Isabela patted her on the shoulder, "Sleep well."

"Goodnight, Isabela. Goodnight, Anders." Marian made sure to address each of them in turn.

"Wait! Marian!" Anders called as she headed for the door, "Let me walk you to your room, it's rowdy in there."

Marian shyly nodded and they stepped inside, followed shortly by Isabela. The two cut their way through a bustling crowd that seemed centric on a single table. Though they couldn't see or hear who was at the table, they rightly assumed it to be Varric, and then they lost Isabela after her favorite barstool showed up.

After the two mages ascended the short stairs and turned the corner things quieted drastically. Marian stopped at her door, "Thank you, Anders."

He smiled down on her, now that things were quiet he noticed just how much taller he was. "Not a problem, Marian. Will you be alright?"

"Of course, it was just, shocking, that's all."

"Don't ever be ashamed of who you are, Marian."

"I'll be sure to remember that." Marian truly felt better, just talking to him, "Goodnight again, Anders."

"Marian?"

"Yes?"

"Have you cast one of your spells on me?" Anders was joking, of course, but Marian was confused.

"Oh no! Of course not, I would never-"

"Marian! That's not what I meant." He stopped her, but she still did not understand, "I just, I know I've only known you a day or so, but I don't like seeing you upset. It's heartbreaking." Marian didn't know what to say, so she smiled back. "Goodnight Marian."

A/N: I kept wanting to type Saemus as Sawemust. Don't ask me why because I don't know. Anyway, R&R, all that good stuff, and remember, I promise, this is a Fenris story, just bear with me. With the way I wrote Anders in this chapter I'm starting to like him more, but that's probably because he's more Awakening Anders than Justice Anders. Either way, stay tuned for more, and it shouldn't be nearly as long as the last wait.