Not Quite Damsels, Definite Distress

[justice_is_blond]

WHO: Anders, Alistair, Zevran, Nathaniel, Teren, Merrill, Ciri, Jamie, Cyril, Velanna
WHAT: Rescuing two princesses who went into the wrong castle
WHEN: Around Haring 10th
WHERE: A village handwavily somewhere around Skyhold, on the Fereldan side of things.
NOTES: Minor violence warnings for now. Signup Post.

Sometimes people vanish. Sometimes there's a trail to follow, and luckily for these two, there's some information about where they were going.

Comments

[chainlightning]

"Forcefully made them, I imagine."

There's no judgment in it, just a sort of resigned 'this is the way it is' quality. She knows who had gone into the house. She's seen the way most of them operate.

"Why were they only going to release one?"

[pinprick]

"Not so forcefully as I expected. They were overconfident enough to be forthcoming once they knew we knew."

Nathaniel pauses at the next question, mind tracing back to the earliest part of the story where this all makes sense. And he sighs, because this will take longer than he would like.

"Those mages are part of a Circle fraternity called the Resolutionists. They've existed for quite some time; at least, long before the Kirkwall rebellion. They believe that any and every extreme must be taken to ensure the freedom of mages. To them, when Anders destroyed the Chantry, he was doing what was right and necessary and it was a good thing--none of which even Anders himself believes any longer. You can guess he's become a bit of a hero to them, and the symbol of what they stand for.

"Anders has been writing to them for a while. Urging them to consider less extreme methods, which they took to mean he was held prisoner and forced to write those things. This kidnapping was meant to be a rescue. When they realized he actually believed those things, they decided they couldn't have their figurehead going about spouting a message they didn't like."

Rage is clouding Nathaniel's face as he speaks of this, and he turns away at last, taking cleansing breaths to calm down and focusing on the road ahead.

"I don't know what he's told you of what he endured in the Circle, if anything. All I can say is that they were exceptionally cruel to him, though they might not have known it."

[chainlightning]

Fingers twitch against Honeysuckle's reins, Merrill sucking in a breath through her teeth. They had wanted to help Anders, at first. But then...

"It seemed it was the older two, mostly, unless we've been completely misled. Aleigh has a lot of anger for those that hurt him, especially for Templars, but not enough that he came to fight us. Vidal and Kian, they seem- lost. Following orders because they didn't know what else to do."

One of her hands goes to stroke the neck of her horse, trying to calm herself down more than anything else.

"It doesn't make what happened any less cruel to him, of course. I just... I want him to know that not everyone wanted to hurt him. That not everyone hates him." She tilts her head, looking directly at Nathaniel this time. "And I mean not just Wardens and outcast Dalish mages."

[pinprick]

A change comes over Nathaniel's face, subtle though it is. He softens a little, his gaze falling, and he appears to ride blind for a moment as he realizes that he has made this entire ordeal about himself more than it has been about Anders, and he has practically ignored Alistair. In wanting to comfort and protect Anders, he has forgotten that way in which Anders is most vulnerable to him--the risk of becoming over-dependent on him as a source of love and kindness. Merrill is right. Anders has spent his life expecting to die young, with a complete lack of faith in the world immediately around him to be benign at any given moment. It is just as important that he know the world does not seek his death as it is for him to know some will protect his life. And Nathaniel has forgotten that he cannot be the one to give that. He cannot feed Anders happiness in a spoon, and trying to do that will turn him into a manipulator, not a lover.

A few of the lines of his face deepen briefly before he glances back to Merrill. "Kian isn't a bad sort. He was the most insistent that this be resolved quickly, and seemed aghast that it had gotten so out of hand. He's practically still a boy. He might understand, if it is explained to him. Most of the people who hurt Anders in his life are no longer alive to apologize, I think, but these ones are. Maybe that will be something."

[chainlightning]

For all that Merrill doesn't know what, exactly, is going on in Nathaniel's mind -- it matters that it's touched him, that he's listening. She nods when he does speak, offering a slight smile of support, of agreement. "I think it'll definitely be something. Vidal too -- she's very sweet. I think she'd rather like to pet Purrelden, if Anders is okay with it; she seemed just as concerned about the cat as I was when she came up to us for some attention. That's without recognizing her, even."

Purrelden, being a cat, had only really wanted the attention of those she liked and those actually willing to give it when she wanted it -- but that was the way of things.

"And she helped fight back. That's definitely something."

[pinprick]

Nathaniel has never really spoken to Merrill at length. He thinks, though, that he likes her. He knows little about her that does not come from Tethras' book, which has its own biases. That she came on this venture speaks enough for Nathaniel.

A nod in her direction. "You and he must be good friends."

[chainlightning]

"Well, we were all a part of Hawke's group," Merrill chirps, reaching up to ruffle Honeysuckle's mane. "We all fell together following her, you know? I didn't have any contact with him after he left Kirkwall, but I worried about him a lot. Seeing him again here- without Hawke, but knowing that he had tried to do what he thought was right and that it had made people hate him? We shared years and adventures together. I wasn't going to abandon him. As far as I'm concerned, he's definitely one of my very good friends."

Her smile is sunny, with no regard toward the arguments and disagreements they've had. That's just part of who they are. As long as it stays respectful, it's not much of a problem.