First Meeting

Anders had been trekking through rain under cover of night, determined to make this escape stick. He was heading south for the Korcari Wilds, hopefully no one would be able to find him there. He could hide under the old tales of Flemeth, and should any real Witch of the Wilds show up, perhaps they could be allies, mage-to-mage. But for now he was cold and soaked to the bone, and absolutely exhausted. He was on the outskirts of a village when he finally decided to stop, seeing a small barn just ahead. He hurried inside and made himself a little hideaway behind some bales of hay, then fell asleep, the ache in his bones catching up with him.

"I don't know who you are, but I demand to know why you're on our property!" A young man was yelling at him, waking him with a start. Anders looked up to see a burly farm-boy with a pitchfork pointed at him, ready to fight.

"I just needed a place to sleep for the night, I swear. I haven't taken anything, and the only things I touched were hay bales." He held up his hands in a gesture of surrender.

"Very likely! You're from the circle, come here to spy, have you?!" The farm-boy seemed ready to escalate things when he was distracted. "Sister! I'm handling this, you and Beth go inside!"

"Carver, I could hear you out on the field, now what is ha-...Well, hello." Anders saw the intruding party who had distracted his would-be interrogator. She was a thing of beauty, sun-kissed skin and emerald eyes, her black hair in two braids over her shoulders. "I thought I heard you say something about the circle, but I just thought you were being paranoid again."

"Hello, I haven't been given a chance to introduce myself." He stood up, now that he felt safe that this Carver wasn't going to stab him, brushing bits of loose hay off of himself. "My name is Anders, and I'm no spy. Please, don't send me back to the circle. I can leave right now, start running, you'll never see me again. Sound good?"

The sister sighed and smacked her brother upside the head. "Carver you tit, he's the last person you should be threatening! Go inside and ask mother if there's anything leftover from breakfast for our guest." Carver grumbled but obeyed, kicking the door of the barn open as he went.

"I'm no threat to you, miss, you don't have to..."

She smiled and opened her hand, fire in her palm, then quickly closed it again. "And I am no threat to you, Anders. I am Marian. Please, come inside, I'd love to get to know you." She grabbed his hand and pulled him to their humble home.

Anders had not expected to run into an apostate living so casually, and her dragging him into her home was a welcome surprise as well. The matron of the house, Leandra, gave him a plate of steaming hot hash, potatoes and sausage and egg, exactly the kind of hearty meal that he needed after his travels.

"Thank you very much, serah. I had been expecting table scraps, this is divine." He smiled to himself seeing her blush slightly as she explained that there had been some extra from breakfast, and if he had come in an hour ago she could have made a proper portion for the young man.

*

Marian watched Anders intensely, studying his face, his robes, everything. She hadn't met any apostates who weren't named Hawke before. Maybe he would be able to teach her things father hadn't, or maybe he could give her insights about the circle and the templars to help avoid them better. He was rather cute, maybe he could teach her even more. She had just turned 20 and had still never even kissed a man. She wanted to, oh by the Maker how she wanted to, but she couldn't risk showing her magic during a moment of... vulnerability.

"Marian! Have you gone deaf girl?" A slap on her arm along with her name shouted next to her pulled her from her fantasy, a flush quickly tinting her cheeks. She looked to her mother apologetically, not noticing the amused smirk on Anders' face.

"Sorry, no, not deaf. What is it?"

"I said I hope you're still planning on getting some work done today. I know you probably want to spend time with our guest but we still have lives to live, and proper farm girls don't just get the day off. Keep up appearances dear, go gather wood, and then I want you cutting it into proper size for the fire."

"But that's Carver's job!" She groaned.

"And he and Bethany are working the field, so you can do wood. Anders I have some clothing you can change into so you don't stand out so much, if you wish."

"Yes, I would appreciate that. I think I'll help with gathering wood, make it less strange should someone have seen me coming out of the barn earlier.

"An excellent idea, young man. How old are you, anyway?" Leandra smiled at him warmly, her scolding tone from moments before gone.

"I am 21. I've spent half my life in the circle."

"I am terribly sorry that's been your lot. I've kept Marian free for 20 years now, and Bethany for 18 next month. Their father had escaped the Kirkwall circle, and lived the rest of his life a free man. It has not been without hardship, but it is possible, Anders." She smiled at his slightly awestruck look. "I'll get you those clothes now."

Marian didn't hear her mother openly admit to struggling often, and to know that she felt so optimistic, even after 20 years of hiding mage-born children with her apostate husband, was rather heartwarming. She looked over to Anders who seemed equally moved. He met her gaze and smiled softly at her.

"You have a remarkable family, Marian."

"The Remarkable Hawke's, we could join a circus!" She grinned and earned a chuckle from him.

"I simply meant that to live your life freely, as a family with 3 apostates, is incredible. I am very glad to have met you all."

"Even Carver?"

"Well, maybe not Carver. But I am glad to have met you." He reached over and squeezed her hand, then stood when he saw Leandra rejoin them with clothes in hand.

"You are leaner than my boy, but I managed to find some clothes that will fit you well enough that you won't be embarrassed while cutting wood."

"Thank you, I'll just go back there and get changed. I'll be just a moment Marian, then we can get to work."

*

He followed behind Marian as they made their way to the small patch of woodlands nearby, taking in her form while listening to her talk about the village of Lothering, the few people she interacted with there, and how incredibly dull she found it.

"I've just turned 20 this last month, and I've still never been kissed even! I can't trust any of the people here to not turn me in to the templars, and if they found me they would surely find Bethany. I don't know how long mother expects me to be here helping her raise the twins but they're almost adults, she can't expect me to waste my youth hiding! What kind of life is that?"

"I understand what you mean, but at least it's not the circle. Though, I will admit, there is plenty of kissing in the circle. So at least it has that in its favor." He chuckled.

"What, really?"

"Kissing, squeezing, rutting in storage closets. There's not a lot of enjoyment to be had in the circle, and with that many lonely, like-minded adults in such a small space..." He trailed off, but she had stopped dead in her tracks, just staring at him.

"So you wouldn't be...offended if I told you how disappointed I am that you're in Carver's pants and not mine?"

He let out a guffaw before he could stop himself, then quickly went to her, hands on her arms as she visibly got upset, cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"No, no! Please don't get upset, I'm sorry! That was just unexpected, and quite clever might I say." He smiled, holding out his arms to offer her a hug. She took the offer quickly, hiding her face in his chest. "You are a gorgeous woman, Marian. Perhaps tonight we could explore this topic further?"

She looked up at him, eyes full of longing and hope. "Alright, Anders."

He smiled and leaned in, pressing his lips to hers tenderly, then pulled away. "There, at least now you can't say you've never been kissed."

*

The day was uneventful outside of the kiss and a few flirty remarks passed back and forth. During mealtimes Carver still watched Anders with suspicion, while Bethany asked him a million and a half questions about life in the circle.

Anders announced that he would sleep in the barn again, claiming a desire for privacy, since no such thing truly existed in the circle. Leandra nodded and gave him blankets and a pillow to use.

"I would like to talk with him some more, before he retires." Marian said quickly to excuse herself.

"Don't bother the poor boy. If he starts yawning you let him sleep, you understand?"

"Yes, Mother." She agreed, grateful that her mother did not suspect her true motives.

She let herself into the barn quietly and shut the door behind her.

"Anders, it's me. Did you still want to...talk?" He turned from where he had been setting up his makeshift bed and smiled at her. He was wearing only the trousers now, and she could see in the lantern light that he was lean, lightly muscled, and had a fine patch of dark blond hair on his chest that tapered off in a trail leading below his naval and the extent of what his shirtless state would show. She swallowed, she had thought about men, occasionally women, and just sex in general. But here she was presented with the opportunity to do it and she had no idea where to begin.

"You are as lovely by firelight as you are by daylight, Marian." He smiled and came to her, placing his hands on her hips and gently pulling her flush against him before leaning in and kissing her. She melted into him, putting her arms around his neck. She squeaked with surprise when he slid both of his hands further back to squeeze her ass.

"A-Anders... I need to know that I'm not just some conquest. I don't expect love or marriage but, I don't want to do this if you don't respect me as a person."

"Marian, I think you're quite admirable. You're funny, clever, strong. From what little we were able to discuss magic you seem to know a great deal. I will never forget the name Marian Hawke, this I promise you."

"Alright, well...good. Now let's move on to the good part before my Mother gets worried about how long we're 'talking' and comes to check on us."

"No templars around but I still have to worry about getting caught? No fair." He chuckled and kissed her again, his lips working hers apart lightly while he undid the laces on his trousers. He was introducing her to the joys of tongue kissing while he set to work on lifting up her nightgown and pulling down both of their smallclothes.

"Since this is your first time I know you don't have a preference about position, but would you like to be able to kiss, or would you prefer that I not be able to see your face while I do these terribly sinful things to you?"

"Kissing sounds good, I've grown quite fond of y- Kissing! Kissing you." She corrected herself quickly, but the knowing smirk and twinkle in his eye told her that he caught her anyway.

He kissed along her neck and up to her ear, which he gently nibbled on, as he snaked one hand between them to gently rub her clit.

"This is not the first time this has happened in here..." She confessed breathlessly.

"Ah, so you come out to the barn to touch yourself? How naughty..." He teased, his voice husky in her ear while he slipped a finger into her.

"Y-yes, though no worse than I'm being right now, all things c-considered." She moaned as he added a second finger.

"I'm in no position to judge, sweetheart. I'm quite the troublemaker back in the tower. Now, put your arms around my neck, I'm going to lift you up against the wall."

She obeyed, trusting him to guide her. He may not have the bulk of a warrior, but he had strength enough to lift and pin her to the wall, his hard cock rubbing against her slit. He held her under her thighs, confident and calm, while her heart was beating wildly. He kissed her tenderly as he pushed in, slowly to start, giving her a chance to get used to this feeling of fullness. Once certain she was ready, he fucked her fast and hard, his hips snapping into her over and over. She bit his shoulder to keep from crying out, not wishing to draw any attention to the barn. He grunted in her ear and dug his nails into her thighs, eliciting a high pitched mewl from his new lover.

"Oh Anders!" She whined into his shoulder, stifling her cries as she came hard around his cock, the surprise of it, coupled with the incredible tightness, pushed him over the edge and into his own climax.

"I-I'm sorry, I was going to pull out."

"It's fine, my cycle just ended a couple days ago, it should be fine from how Mother explained the whole affair."

"I...If you're sure. In the tower we have access to potions that prevent...well, you know. I'm sure it'll be fine." He kissed her gently before carefully extracting himself from her and setting her on her feet.

---

Anders stayed with them for a few more days, introducing Marian to a different position each night. But then templars came into Lothering, searching for a blond apostate. Carver had brought the news with a strange mixture of smugness and despair. He knew Anders would be trouble, but now he was trouble for the Hawke family. Anders redressed in his robes and made himself look disheveled, and allowed himself to be caught while running into the woods. He wouldn't have 20 years of hard work wasted because he was foolish enough to stay put for too long. He wouldn't have Marian and Bethany brought to the circle. He was at least safe from the brand by virtue of passing his harrowing. They had no such protection. Leandra wept at what Anders did for them, and Marian wept with her, though her feelings were more complex on the matter.