Magic's Slave

WHOO!!! Chapter three for you guys like, a week early :3 As long as i keep ahead on my buffer you'll get to enjoy these a lot sooner!



------------------



Anders woke to a peculiar feeling. He was warm underneath the blanket, yes. But the warmth was also heavy. He stared down at his chest into a mess of dark brown hair. He blinked, and then he recalled the night before, and that Nathaniel had slept with him on the floor. He smiled and felt a warm glow in his chest. “He’s nicer than anyone’s ever been to me…” Then he recalled that the noble was now his master and an awkward feeling replaced the glow, and he poked Nathaniel’s shoulder. “Uhm. Ser? Please wake up…”



Nathaniel stirred and tightened his grip on Anders for a moment before he noticed where he was and leapt backwards from the mattress.



Anders stared curiously at the bright red blush on the man’s face and tried to keep from laughing.



Nathaniel stared for a moment before he said, “You tell no one… no one what I was doing.”



Anders raised an eyebrow. “I’m your slave, Ser. Remember? You’re allowed to do whatever you want with me, and no one can say otherwise.”



Several emotions flickered across Nathaniel’s face before he let out a groan and bolted from the room.



Anders finally gave into his compulsion and burst into laughter. When he finally managed to control his laughing, he tidied up Nathaniel’s room, placing the mattress back on the bed. When he was satisfied with his work, he left the room and headed off for a bath.



When he managed to pull himself away from the bath about an hour later, he went to look for Nathaniel. He was hungry. So very hungry. And while he was used to not eating, this was a different kind of hungry clawing at his belly. He wanted to know how much food he was allowed to eat.



When he couldn’t find the other man after a few minutes of looking, he slunk to the kitchens and began raiding the larder. There’s so much food here… I’ll just eat a little… they won’t miss anything.



“Who’s in there?!” He heard a rather stern voice muffled by the door.



“Oh Maker.” Anders dropped the food he was holding and shrank down into a corner. I’m going to get beaten. They’re going to send me back to the Tower. I should have looked harder for him. Oh Maker, please don’t let them send me back.



The door opened and a rather stern looking grey haired man stepped inside. “Oh, it’s you. What are you…?” He saw the food on the floor and sighed. “I’ll be right back. I need to go get Nathaniel. Stay put.”



Anders paled. “Please don’t go get him! I know I should have asked him, but I was so hungry and I…” He shut his mouth with a click. Begging with the Templar only made the beatings worse.



The man stopped in the doorway. “Son, just stay put.”



Anders cowered on the floor in the corner. He’s going to send me back. I just know it. I don’t want to go back. I’m finally clean. He was still whimpering in the same place when Nathaniel arrived with the other man.



The man pointed at him and said, “Look at him. I found him there, cowering in the corner! Nathaniel Howe, why didn’t you tell him about the changes that come along with being one of the Wardens? Why didn’t you tell him that an increase in appetite was to be expected and he is encouraged to eat as much as he needs or wants whenever he wants to?” The man stood there and scolded Nathaniel for a few more minutes.



Nathaniel finally muttered a “Yes, Seneschal Varel,” Before turning to Anders. “Come on then. Grab something and let’s go. We have a lot to talk about.”



Anders stared back and forth at them before climbing to his feet and grabbing a small hunk of bread and following. “You’re… not going to send me back?” He directed his question at Varel.



“Of course not boy. You’re one of us now.” The gruff man actually smiled.



“Thank you…” Anders mumbled and followed Nathaniel closely, nibbling on his piece of bread. They’d only been walking for a few minutes before he spoke up again, “Did he… Did he tell me the truth? You aren’t going to send me back because I stole some food?” Nathaniel continued to remain silent. Anders bit his lip. “You’re not angry with me are you? I looked for you, but I couldn’t find you and I was hungry and—“



“Anders. Stop talking. Varel was right. I should have told you the changes you’ll be going through as a Warden.” Nathaniel stopped and turned to face him. “You’re one of us now. Remember that. No one is going to send you back there. One of these days I want you to tell me what they did to you, so I know how to avoid setting you off.”



Anders stared at him with wide eyes. “Ser, you don’t want to know what they did to me. I don’t want to know what they did to me but it’s not likely I’ll forget.”



Nathaniel nodded. “I understand. But here, sit.” They’d reached a dining hall and he pulled out a chair. “As a Warden your body is going to change. You've obviously noticed the increase in appetite.” He stared pointedly at the bread and then continued. “The second thing you should know is that you’ve only got thirty years to live after the joining.” Nathaniel’s face took on a pained look. “You’ll also start having nightmares soon. We can feel the Darkspawn. That goblet you drank out of was some of their blood. You’re tainted, and the taint is what eventually kills you.” Then he blushed. “It’s also now nearly impossible for you to have children, if you so possessed the urge.”



Anders snorted. “I can’t say that last issue will be much of a drawback for me,” he mumbled around the bread.



Nathaniel nodded. “When you start having the nightmares come see me. We’ll set up a mattress for you in my room. If you didn’t want to be alone last night, I can only imagine what it’s going to be like once those start.”



“I told you last night, Ser;” Anders looked a bit nettled, “the bed was too high. I’ve never slept on anything higher than the ground.”



“So if we take your mattress off you’ll stay in your room this time?” The blush was creeping back up Nathaniel’s cheeks.



“Of course not, Ser.”



Nathaniel blinked and then tapped his fingers on the table. “And why not?”



“Because you obviously need someone to keep the room tidy for you. I can do that easier if it’s my room as well.” Anders finished off his bread. “Speaking of, where are your clothes? They probably need to be laundered.”



Nathaniel sputtered, going very red in the face. “I don’t need to be taken care of. I’m a grown man.”



Anders raised an eyebrow. “I can see that. However, you seem to need help keeping everything clean.” He tilted his head. “The clothes you’re wearing right now have stains on them.”



“Aren’t you supposed to do what I tell you to do?” Nathaniel asked, helplessly.



Anders gave him a cool look. “Not when it interferes with what I’m supposed to be doing.”



Nathaniel sighed. “Fine. Do whatever you want. You’re supposed to be a free man here in the Vigil anyway, so do whatever you like.”



The smile on Anders’ face lit up the room. “Why thank you, Ser.”



“Why does it make you so happy to be used like this?”



“Because for the first time in my life I’m choosing to serve who I’m bound to,” Anders replied. “When I was in the Tower, if I didn’t serve who they told me to, the Templar ra—beat me.”



Nathaniel noticed the stumble and raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. “So now, for the first time, when you could choose to serve yourself, you’re choosing to mother me? I have servants who—“



“No,” Anders said quietly. “No more servants going through your things. You’re obviously someone important or I wouldn’t have been given to you. You need a single person that you can trust dealing with your property.”



“And why is that? You think someone would try to assassinate me?” Nathaniel was curious.



Anders simply nodded. “Rylok. She… doesn’t let go of her property easily. And the easiest way for a Mage to get taken back to the Tower is to have their owner die.”



Nathaniel nodded as if having some huge revelation. “So you *can* be selfish. You aren’t just doing this for me.”



Anders shrank down in his chair, looking guilty.



“Stop that,” Nathaniel said irritably. “I’m relieved to hear that you can at least think about yourself. I’ll trust someone with self interest at heart more than someone protecting me out of altruism.”



An uneasy silence fell between them until Nathaniel shifted and said, “Come on. I need to train you to use a weapon don’t I? Let’s head to the training grounds. Follow me.”



The training grounds were empty when they entered, and Nathaniel hovered over the weapons rack, debating on which weapon to give to the mage. He finally selected a mace and held it out. “Go on. Take this. I’ll not have you using anything sharp until you’ve built up those muscles and your coordination.”



Anders reluctantly took hold of the mace. “Now what should I do, Ser?”



“You see those dummies?” Nathaniel pointed. “I want you to go over there and hit them. Repeatedly.”



Anders frowned but did as he was told. It didn’t take long for his arms to become fatigued and for him to have worked up a sweat.



“Alright, that’s enough.” Nathaniel stepped over to him and plucked the mace from his hands. “You’ve got the hang of it. I hope the commander isn’t planning on taking you with us any time soon. Wait…” Nathaniel stopped. “What kind of magic can you do?”



“I was brought here to be a healer, but I have an understanding of Nature spells as well. They're all very weak, though, because of the--”



“Collar, yes…” Nathaniel absently scratched his chin. “The Commander told us that Wynne could give weapons nature attributes. Could you make this mace cold?”



Anders frowned and reached his hand back out to touch the weapon. Frost spread over his fingertips and over the weapon.



Nathaniel felt the weapon grow cold under his hand, but it wasn’t uncomfortably so. When he touched the head of the weapon, however, he muffled a curse and drew his hand back. “That answers that question…” He murmured. “Can you do this before a battle? To multiple weapons? What about fire?”



Anders nodded. “Whatever you or the commander need me to do. Will this make it easier on me to fight?”



Nathaniel nodded absently. “If you’re doing more damage this way then it will be over faster. And if you can make it colder you may just be able to freeze and shatter bits of them when you hit.”



Anders stood there, waiting for Nathaniel to say something else, and shifted uncomfortably when some of the soldiers started filtering into the grounds for training. “Ser. We aren’t alone here anymore.” He cleared his throat.



Nathaniel looked up and around. “Ah right. You used up a lot of energy in the last couple of hours. Are you hungry again?”



Anders nodded. “Yes, Ser.”



“Then go get something to eat from the Kitchen. Let the cook know you’re the new Warden and he’ll feed you as much as he can get you to eat.” Nathaniel chuckled. “I’m going to try this mace out and see if it works as well as I hope. When you’re done eating go talk to the Commander; there are a few more things he needs to tell you.”



Anders quickly left the grounds, keeping his eyes low and away from the soldiers still filtering in. When he reached the kitchens without incident, he let out a sigh of relief and raised his voice a little. “Uhm… It’s the cook here? Nathaniel told me to come in and get some more food…” His stomach let out an embarrassing gurgle.



A young man poked his head out from the larder. “Aha! You are the new Warden!” His accent marked him as being from Orlais. He reached a flour dusted hand up to push his nearly black hair out of his face. “Come in, come in. I have just the thing for you. Whenever you’re hungry come see me. Always.” He was wearing an open friendly grin, and openly staring at Anders. “You are far too skinny. I will fatten you up.” And he pulled out a few sweetcakes and cookies from the larder, setting them on the table in front of the mage. “Eat, eat!”



“I…” Anders stared at him. “I’m a mage. You’re not afraid of me?”



“What?!” The young man’s brown eyes widened. “Only fools are afraid of Mages. Ours are perfectly free and no one is hurt. Well… they are hurt less often than they are here! You trap mages up, make them slaves… Good way to attract demons.” He nodded emphatically. “My name is Henri! Now eat!”



Anders obediently dropped his gaze to the food, and was thus unaware of Henri’s lingering gaze. He took a bite of one of the sweetcakes first, and dropped the rest of it in surprise.



Henri’s expressive face grew alarmed. “They are no good?” He seemed genuinely worried that his food had failed.



Anders shook his head emphatically and devoured the rest of them, including the cookies that had been set in front of him. “These are amazing! I’ve… never had anything sweet before. This is…” He seemed to be at a loss for words, and he gestured with the cookie. “Can I have more?”



Henri’s face lit up again. “More? Of course! You can have as many as you want! We will stuff you with as many as we can fit!”



Anders froze at the cook’s choice of words, and swallowed heavily. “On… On second thought, I need to see the commander. May I just take a few cookies with me?”



Henri’s face fell. “Oh. Yes, yes. I’ll leave the larder unlocked for you. I know how it gets for you Wardens at night.”



Anders nodded. “Thank you.” Then scooped up the rest of his cookies and nibbled them on the way to the Commander’s study. When he arrived, he knocked lightly.



A muffled voice that sounded like the Zevran person from before. “Yes? What is it? We’re a little busy.”



Anders blushed. “It’s um… Anders. The Commander wanted to see me?” He *really* hoped they would send him away.



There was a muffled curse and he heard, “Zevran. Get your clothes on. I need to ask him abooouuuuu… Mmmm. No! Stop!” He heard the Antivan laugh and then the door scraped open, Zevran sweeping by him wearing nothing but loose breeches and a smirk.



Anders blushed to the roots of his hair and stepped inside when the flustered Commander called him in. “I can come back later…”



“No, no…” Thomais said fixing his hair. “I needed to kick him out anyway. I wasn’t getting any work done.” He chuckled.



Anders popped a cookie in his mouth to avoid commenting.



“Now, Nathaniel has spoken to you about the changes when you become a Grey Warden, yes?” Anders nodded. “Good. I sent a messenger to Denerim to get in contact with Alistair. I know he set Wynne free, and I’m hoping he can take that collar off of you.” Thomais rubbed his forehead. “The problem is that he and I aren’t exactly on good speaking terms.” He smiled apologetically and scratched at one blue tattooed cheek. “I want you to be there when I speak to him. If he sees you maybe...”



Anders nodded again. “He *was* one of the few that was nice to us. Maybe now that he… has power he can help us. He always seemed to want to in the Tower.”



Thomais steepled his fingers. “I also sent word to the Tower offering a large sum for the three mages you mentioned. We’ll have your friends here soon enough.” Then he smiled. “So how was your first night in Vigil?”



Anders blinked and swallowed his cookie. “Uhm. It’s nothing like the Tower,” he said honestly. “Nath-- My master is very nice. He’s teaching me how to use weapons, and let me stay with him last night because the bed is too high.”



Thomais’ eyes widened. “Let you…” Then he frowned. “I need to have a talk with him then.”



Anders shook his head. “Please no. He didn’t do anything to me. He pulled his mattress onto the floor with me and just let me stay.” Anders’ face was turning pink. “Not that he’d be doing anything wrong if he did. I’m a slave, Ser. Remember?”



Thomais growled. “Not in my Keep. You are a free man within these walls Anders. You can say no. You'd also be well within your rights to defend yourself if someone tried to push you into anything.”



Anders shook his head again, and then he perked up a bit. “If it’s not to bold of me to ask, Ser, could you keep the servants away from his room? I… Rylok doesn’t let anyone go without a fight. I don’t want to go back to the tower and I don’t trust anyone else to not kill him.”



Thomais nodded. “It’s not too bold at all. I’ll send the order to the servant’s quarters. Don’t worry about Nathaniel. He can take care of himself.” Then he chuckled. “You know, he broke into Vigil to try and kill me. It took four Orlesian Wardens to get him into the dungeon. They were going to execute him, but I invoked the Right of Conscription and made him a Warden.” Thomais grinned a little wider. “He’s proved remarkably loyal so far. It’s strange…” He scratched his chin. “The ones that try to kill me end up being the most loyal friends I could have.”



“Oh? Talking about me are we?”



Anders shifted in his chair, startled. He hadn’t heard anyone walking by. Zevran stood in the doorway wearing a cheeky grin.



“Yes, we were, love.” Thomais stood and placed a kiss on the Antivan’s cheek.



“Since you were talking about me, does that mean you were considering my proposal, my dear?” Zevran stepped into the room and sat on the desk smirking at Anders, and the mage looked distinctly frightened.



Thomais gave him an exasperated look. “No. And stop that. My answer is going to keep being no.”



Zevran sighed and shrugged. “Well, I suppose I will just have to settle with ravaging just you.” He slid off of the desk and sauntered towards Thomais.



Thomais blushed. “Uh, Anders? If you’d excuse me? We’ll talk again once the others… have… arrived…” And then he was distracted by a pair of arms around him and a mouth firmly attached to his.



Anders nodded and beat a hasty retreat back to Nathaniel’s room.