This is for the iPod-Shuffle Challenge. The first song that came up was Beyond the Sea (Bobby Darrin), and of course I immediately thought of Isabela. Once again, as always, I own nothing, not the characters, not the song, nada. Bioware built the sandbox I play in, and All That Jazz (hmm... I wonder if that song's going to pop up. Who knows, it just might!)

Isabela looked out over the sea. From where she was standing, she could see Kirkwall, though only as a small strip of land in the distance. The Tome in her arms weighed heavy.

She should be much further away by now. It was stupid of her to have stopped so close to Kirkwall, what with the Qunari relic in her possession and so many people who either wanted it, or wanted her dead. It wasn't safe here. Yet, she couldn't find the will to leave. She felt rooted to the spot on the shore, staring at the place that had been her home for the past couple of years. Not that it had ever been much of a home; only a single, underfurnished room, and a tavern to drink in. Nothing like the Siren's Call; nothing like the majesty and freedom of her ship on the high seas. There was nobody like her old crew, the hard-working, hard-partying men who lived and died for her. In Kirkwall, there was only Hawke's friends, and a full half of them despised her.

They probably despised her more after what she just pulled.

Her arms began to ache. She looked down at the relic she risked everything for. And why? Because it could make her rich? Most assuredly, and yet a part of her wanted to throw it into the sea, get rid of it for good. It wouldn't stop the Qunari from punishing her if they ever caught her. Which seemed more and more likely the longer she stayed here.

What was she waiting for? What did she expect to see?

Nothing. What could she expect? The Qunari didn't yet know that she had the Tome, the people she stole it from were dead, and Diana Hawke didn't know where she had gone and lacked a ship to find her anyway.

And that was her problem. Diana Hawke. The only true friend she had in Kirkwall. Well, more than friend, if she was to be perfectly honest. There had been that one night, that one fantastic night. Isabela had to go and fuck that up, though. First by making things awkward, and then by running off with the relic. There was still... something between them, though. Even with all her running, she couldn't deny that.

She wondered what Hawke was doing now. Was she busy trying to save the city still? Or was she, like Isabela, standing on the shore with her boots sinking deeper and deeper into the wet sand, searching for something she had only the smallest hope of ever seeing? Was she waiting for Isabela to come back and do the right thing? Was she hoping for something more, another night like that last one?

Isabela imagined herself going back. Returning to Kirkwall with the Tome of Koslun, and presenting it to Diana. She imagined Diana putting the relic aside, gathering Isabela into her arms and kissing her. She imagined the world disappearing around them.

She looked down at the dead weight in her hands and laughed. It wouldn't be like that. She knew it. Most likely Hawke would be pissed, after everything the pirate wench had done. Chances were that Hawke would take the relic, give it to the Qunai, and refuse to speak to Isabela ever again. That seemed much more likely. Still, the dream was nice.

She thought about her other option. Running, forever, from the Qunari. She could fence the relic, get a new ship and be rich forever. But she would still always be running from the Qunari. A couple of years ago that prospect didn't seem so bad; after all, she had always been running. But a couple of years in Kirkwall, a couple of years in the company of Diana; who somehow managed to be sexy, funny, irreverent and mercenary and yet still find it in her heart to save the whole Maker-damned city from itself, that had changed Isabela. Finding a ship, continuing to run, it didn't seem so important anymore.

Damn her. Damn her to the furthest reaches of the Void. Isabela knew why she was stuck. She couldn't leave. She couldn't run anymore. She had to go back. Back to Diana Hawke. Even if it meant she never got her ship, never felt the trade winds whipping across her face, she had to go back. Do the right thing.

And maybe, just maybe, Diana wouldn't totally hate her forever.

The Qunari relic still felt like a burden in her arms, but one that she could manage now.