It had been two years since the Deep Roads expedition, and Briar Hawke just wanted her brother back. All of the posturing and politeness that was expected around nobility was infuriating, and if she'd had Carver by her side, all of this would have been more bearable. But he was a Grey Warden now, off killing darkspawn and carving out his own path. Normally, the thought of him going off and doing what he wanted to would have made her happy. But she missed her little brother and his constant grousing. She would have killed to have him complaining about being in her shadow instead of going to another damned party, but she had no choice. Her mother was trying to marry her off to continue the Amell name, and that meant going to parties.

There was nothing Hawke hated more than noble parties. All the simpering and thinly veiled insults drove her crazy, and she was convinced that one day she was going to snap and burn down Hightown just so she wouldn't have to go to any more damned parties. But the loss of Carver had hit her mother hard, and if she had to get married to some idiotic noble to make her mother happy again, then she'd gladly do it.

Tonight's party was held by the viscount, and she suspected her mother was going to try to fling her at Seamus this time. It was a brilliant plan, and she had to grudgingly respect her mother for it. Hawke doubted that the viscount's son would have any romantic interest in her, so she could at least have the comfort of knowing that this match wasn't going to work out at the party. Still, she would have to get all dolled up, and the thought didn't exactly make her excited.

There was a knock on Hawke's door and she stood up from her desk, closing the tome she had been reading. To her complete lack of surprise, she opened her door to see her mother standing there, holding up a new dress. Leandra Hawke was wearing quite a smug little grin and her daughter rolled her eyes a little, leaning against the door.

"Another dress?" Briar groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Mother, I know you want me to look nice at these parties, but do you really need to get me a new dress for every one?"

"The nobles are very picky about how people look at these kinds of things, dear," her mother scolded, pushing the dress into Hawke's arms. "And this is a party in the viscount's keep. You need to look absolutely stunning."

"So that you can throw a few young nobles at me, I'm guessing?" Briar shifted uncomfortably, fairly certain that her mother had a pair of horrid shoes to go along with the dress. "I understand that you want me to marry, mother, but do I really have to keep going to these parties? They're so boring."

Leandra let out a very familiar sigh, the one that always came before a lecture. Briar braced herself for the inevitable scolding she was going to get.

"And I suppose you'd rather be in the Hanged Man, drinking swill and making a fool out of yourself?" Ah yes, there it was. Hawke had heard this exact lecture before, and wasn't surprised her mother had chosen this specific one. "You're nobility now, Briar, and you can't just go around doing what you want to. I put up with your adventuring because I know the nobles appreciate it, but you can't go around doing things like that. You are a noble woman now, and if you want to get married, you need to behave. Sleeping around isn't—"

"Mother!" Hawke cried out in disgust, her face crinkling into an expression of extreme distaste. "I don't sleep around." That wasn't completely true. There had been a little… incident with Anders when they had both been drunk, but they had both agreed to keep it quiet, thank the Maker. Her mother would have been furious.

"No, but you behave like a wild woman anyways." Leandra crossed her arms and gave Briar a look that would have scared her completely silent when she was a child. Fortunately, father had given her some tips on how to stand her ground before he had died. "You're going to this party and you're wearing that dress. I trust that you'll use that special makeup to cover your tattoo. We leave before the sun sets."

Turning on her heel, Leandra Hawke walked away, every line of her body giving away just how annoyed she was. Hawke felt guilty. She knew that her mother was still taking Carver's absence hard, and sometimes she took out her grief and frustration on the only child she had left. Resolving to apologize to her mother later, Briar closed her door and laid out her new dress on her bed.

Her mother really did have good taste in dresses. This one was made from dark green silk, which would "make her eyes pop," as she was sure her mother would have said. It was cut low, but not too low, and cinched tightly around the waist. Running her fingers over it, she sighed and shook her head. It was about time she started getting ready, as much as she hated it. Stripping, Briar managed to slip into the dress by herself, lacing up the bodice with a small degree of difficulty.

Stepping over to her vanity, Hawke sat down and pulled out a small jar of special make-up Anders had made for her. Smoothing it over the tattoo that curled around her right eye and temple, she let small wisps of her magic slip into the cream. It glowed faintly for a second before it turned the color of her skin, completely covering her tattoo. The fact that she had to cover her tattoo was extremely annoying, and she didn't understand the point of it. Leandra had told her that most nobles didn't appreciate tattoos, but she didn't since the point in covering it up if they would see her around Kirkwall with it. Still, she wasn't going to argue with her mother about something so small.

Now she just had to worry about her hair. Opting to go the simple route, she braided her long black hair over one shoulder, admiring herself in the mirror when she was done. The dress really did accentuate her eyes, and made her look like she actually had curves instead of just being scrawny. Carver would have made fun of her for wearing such a dress, but then again, he was the one who had originally pointed out her lack of curves. Smiling at the memories of her brother that had surfaced, she pushed herself up and stretched, grunting when her back popped. Shoes and jewelry were the last things she worried about, and she always let her mother take care of those.

Slipping out of her room quietly, Briar knocked on her mother's door and smiled when it opened. Leandra sighed and gently touched her daughter's cheek, a small smile turning up the corner of her lips.

"Such a beautiful girl," she whispered. "You look just like your father."

Briar smiled at her mother, who turned and motioned for her daughter to come in her room. Pulling out a chair, Leandra motioned for her to sit in it. She obeyed, watching as her mother retrieved a small jewelry box, a make-up kit, and green silk shoes. It was hard not to grimace when she saw the heels on those shoes, but she kept her expression very carefully neutral. Setting up behind Hawke, her mother pulled out a string of pearls and clasped it around her neck, adjusting the braid just slightly. The she turned the chair around and applied some kohl around her eyes and rouge on her cheeks and lips. Finally, Briar slipped her feet into those damned shoes and scowled, curling her toes inside the shoes before standing up.

"Why can't I just wear boots to these things?" Briar asked, shifting uncomfortably and nearly twisting her ankle. "My dress goes down to the floor anyways."

"You'll be dancing, and we both know you're a clumsy girl when it comes to that," Leandra answered, picking up a few sprigs of Andraste's Grace and tucking them into Briar's braid and behind her ear. "There. You look absolutely beautiful."

Smiling, Briar gave her mother a hug before leaving the room so she could get ready. Shutting the door behind her, she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Maker give her strength, because if her mother had truly worked wonders on her and made her look appealing, she would be beating men off of her the entire night. The thought made her scowl and she made her way downstairs, sulking. Bodhan assured her that she looked lovely and Sandal chimed in as well, giving her a bright grin. The dwarves had been a bright presence in the household, cheering the family up when they thought of all they had lost.

Finally Leandra came down, her silver hair swept back into a bun, dressed in a gown of purple silk. Briar smiled when she saw her mother, motioning towards the front door.

"We should probably go, mother. We don't want to be late for the party," she said, linking her arm with her mother's and leading her out. "I want to get a head start on the wine."

Leandra just laughed and shook her head, walking up the steps to the Viscount's keep with Hawke's help. It was a good thing they lived so close to the building, or they would have had to take a coach of some kind. Leandra wasn't as spry as she used to be, and she hid how tired she was after climbing the stairs well. But Briar still helped her inside the building, still holding her up with one hand on her elbow.

Servants took their cloaks and handed them glasses of wine. Leandra refused, but Hawke took the one offered to her gladly, wandering off as her mother approached a group of nobles. The building was full of people, and Hawke had no doubt that all of the nobles in Kirkwall were present for this party. Finding a spot that looked sufficiently vacant, she leaned against the wall and took a sip of her wine. It definitely tasted better than what was served in the Hanged Man, but she would have rather been drinking piss beer and talking with friends than drinking fine wine and standing alone at a party.

"Hawke?"

Looking up when she heard her name, Briar saw none other than Sebastian Vael approaching her, a smile on his face. Andraste's flaming knickers, he looked amazing. The white tunic he wore was embroidered with gold thread, fitting his torso quite snugly and accentuating his waist. Surely having a waist like that was considered sinful somewhere. His breeches were too tight and too tempting as well, his boots shining in the light of the chandeliers. She mentally shook herself, horrified at these thougts. He was a man of the Chantry, someone who would turn her in to the Templars in the blink of an eye if he knew that she was a mage. But she smiled at him, clutching her glass of wine tighter.

"Hello, Sebastian. It's been a while, hasn't it?" she asked, voice tight. He looked amazing, and that smile wasn't helping anything. That smile had probably charmed many women, leading them straight into temptation. "I think it's been a few months," Briar blurted.

"Three months, I believe," Sebastian answered, stopping in front of her and clasping his hands behind his back. He looked like a prince, completely in his element and relaxed. Bastard.

"Have you had any luck petitioning for aid to get Starkhaven back?" she asked, taking another sip of wine. Where was the rest of the wine? If she had to deal with this all night, she would need to be drunk out of her mind.

"No." Sebastian frowned, and Briar almost whined. She just wanted to see that gorgeous smile again. Damn it all, she shouldn't have brought up this subject. "Kirkwall has been devoting all of its resources to the Qunari problem, and they can't afford to give me any support right now. But that really isn't something to talk about at a party," he said, that smile lighting up his face again.

"You look very nice," Hawke found herself saying. Apparently her brain-to-mouth filter wasn't working very well tonight, and her face flushed. Flirting with a Chantry man, just wonderful. She may as well have flung herself in front of the knight-commander and screamed 'I'm an apostate'.

But much to her surprise, Sebastian's smile only grew and he looked her over. Hawke could have sworn that she was blushing all over now, and she ducked her head to try to hide how red her face was.

"You look beautiful yourself," he said. "Although I thought you had a tattoo around your right eye. Did you get it removed?"

"Oh, no," Briar replied, clearing her throat and looking back up once she was sure it was safe. "My mother just doesn't think it's appropriate for me to walk around with a tattoo on my face at these things. One of my friends made some make-up for me that would hide it."

One reddish eyebrow quirked up and Hawke instantly regretted saying that. Make-up that could hide tattoos wasn't exactly common, and if Sebastian put all the puzzle pieces together, her cover could be blown entirely. But instead of dragging her to the Gallows and demanding that she turned herself in, he simply smiled and laughed. Oh Maker, that laugh was nice. It was deep and rumbling, just like his thick accent. Once again, Briar scolded herself for letting her guard down.

"Is that Andraste's Grace?" Before she could react, Sebastian was very close, one hand reaching out and gently touching the flowers that had been tucked behind her ear and pinned in her hair. She was suddenly very aware of the scent of incense and resin, some sort of woody tone as well. Sebastian smelled like an archer, and it was overwhelmingly pleasant. "It suits you well. Very delicate, like you."

Briar opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by her mother approaching. Apologizing profusely to Sebastian, Leandra pulled her towards the viscount and his son, away from her safe little corner. Glancing over her shoulder, she watched Sebastian watch her leave, the smile on his face turning into a frown. A lump formed in her throat and she faced the men she was now confronted with, forcing a smile on his face.

Sebastian Vael was dangerous, and she couldn't fall into his trap. Because if she did, it would undoubtedly be the end of her.