In Mourning
It had been a difficult day, adding to the difficult life which Albus Hawke had been living for so many years. First his father perished and Bethany was slain at the hands of a demented ogre. Then Carver had to join the Grey Wardens after his encounter with the Darkspawn. And now his mother, his last memory of Lothering and his life before the Blight was now dead. Her body now a grotesque experiment for an insane Blood Mage. Her last words lingered in his mind and he couldn't help but feel like he failed her. He failed them all and the only good thing he could do now for his mother was to give her a decent funeral. Hopefully he could contact Carver; it likely will result in an argument like their encounters always did. But he didn't care he needed to make sure his mother was surrounded by the people she loved. The few of them who remained. The door to his bedroom opened. To Hawke's surprise it was Isabela. She wore her usual tiny white outfit with her blue pirate bandana resting on her head. She approached the bed and sat down beside Hawke.
"How are you feeling?" she asked sincerely, she was being oddly serious.
"My mother is dead" Hawke said quietly.
"I saw Anders outside, he looked upset. You two finished?" she raised Hawke's head so that his gleaming blue eyes met her gem like auburn ones.
"No…I just couldn't handle him right now!" Hawke began to explain. "He doesn't care about what happened to me, he only cares about the reputation of the Mages! He's been arguing with Fenris for a few hours now!"
"You sure know how to pick them Hawke" she joked. Hawke tried to smile politely, but he couldn't. "Leandra was a fine woman even if she didn't truly approve of me"
"She called you a whore!" Hawke reminded her, smiling at the memory of his mother's first encounter with Isabela.
"That just means she had a good eye" Isabela assured him.
"I just don't know what to do Bela. I failed her just like I failed Bethany and Carver! I just don't think I can cope with the guilt anymore!"
"Don't talk like that Hawke! None of them would want you to be sitting in this room thinking like that, that's not how you should remember them"
"I-I just don't know anymore!" a tear rolled down Hawke's face. She brushed it away and put her hand on his shoulder.
"You should be talking to Anders about all of this not me!" she pulled him into a hug and stood up. "I believe in you two, that's why we aren't under those sheets right now" she gestured to the bed. "Take all the time you need to recover Hawke, just know you have friends who love you!" she turned and walked towards the door.
"Thank you" Hawke said softly. Isabela turned and smiled and Hawke thought about the night of passion the two of them had shared all those years ago and he thought about what could have been.
