Chapter 2

An Old Friend

"If she wasn't your friend and didn't prove it over and over there would be no way you could get me to come back to these disgusting docks. Actually they shouldn't be called the docks they should be called the Disgusting Docks or the Place-that-smells-like-dirty-sailors-and-rotting-fish." Fenris complained as we walked through the gates of the Docks in the late evening.

"Hmmm…I like the first one better. Disgusting docks," I contemplated, "Well it certainly fits it perfectly. You know, I could probably have the name changed to that." I smiled. "Although it might discourage trade."

"Hard to tell it could bring in more people for all we know." He smiled and I reached to take his hand in mine and pull him closer but instead while lifting my hand I quickly changed its direction to brush my hair out of my face. It is hard for me to tell what causes him pain and what does not. I know that he is always in pain from his markings and the pain only goes away when it feeds his anger letting his marks shine blue. He forgets the pain then it dissolves. But that is all I know. We've been, for lack of a better word, interested in each other for almost 6 years. This is my seventh year in Kirkwall, only two weeks after The Gallows disaster, and we have officially been together for maybe a year an a half. And the sad part is I still do not understand his pain, which is something I should know by now.

"There you are! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to come!" Isabella broke my thoughts happily.

"Of course we would come!" I reassured her.

"Yes we would even brave the Disgusting Docks to come see your floating hunk of wood."

"It is not just a hunk of wood. And all wood floats so there is no need for you to say 'floating'. But these Docks are disgusting, that much I will give you. Also, I see through your charade and I know that you are secretly happy. Its OK to share it with the world sometimes you know." Isabella lifted her eyebrows and Fenris shook his head. I just rolled my eyes.

"So Is this the ship?"

"Yes do you like it?" She beamed.

"Its actually really nice. How did you afford this." I paused. "Actually I probably don't want to know that answer." I decided.

"Yes well some things are best left unknown."

"The Winds Of Unexpected Change?" Fenris questioned unexpectedly and I turned to him looking at him as though he had lost his mind.

"What?"

"That's the name of the ship."

"You named your ship?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes. Every Pirate names their ship. Actually, every seaman and woman names their ship. A ship without a name is bad luck. Do you like it? The name I mean." She seemed a little nervous.

"Yes I suppose I do but what does it mean? Its certainly not a common name for a ship." I observed.

"Yes shouldn't you have named it Edward or Betsy or something?" Fenris asked sarcastically.

"No. And Betsy is a name for a cow. So you don't like it then Aria?" She asked me looking hurt.

"Clearly this involves much more than a name so I am going to wonder over here nonchalantly to pretend like I am actually interested in whatever that crazy looking man is selling." Fenris said and walked away. I shook my head and smiled. This is why I always have him around.

"Is Fenris right?"

"Yes and very blunt. But you knew that already. I swear if not for his looks…"

"Isabella you're getting sidetracked." I reminded her.

"Oh right! So you really don't like the ships name?"

"I never said that. It just confuses me. So could you explain?"

"Well I never really thanked you for all you've done for me. I mean I've told you thank you and said I was glad for it but it all seemed so little to do for you after everything you've done for me. You've changed me and I hated it at first and now I don't mind so much except for when I see something I could steal but then see your face in the back of my head reminding me how the last thing I stole could've killed us all. So you've unexpectedly changed me and to think I would still be the same had I not have stolen that relic."

"You named it because you changed unexpectedly. Because I changed you." I paused for a moment realizing how monumental this was to Isabella a ship is her everything. "In a way you named you ship after me. Thank you Isabella."

"No don't thank me. I wish I hadn't because now we are all sentimental." She said in a fake defeated tone and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Oh please we cannot be sentimental. Sentimental people hug. Are we hugging? No. So see no sentimental crazies going on here." I joked.

She laughed. "I think the only person I've ever hugged was my late husband and only then it was to distract him from Zevran leaving our bedroom when he came back unexpectedly early." We both laughed.

"Great you two are done with whatever you were doing. But I think that if this is to be continued it should be somewhere else because I am starting to adjust to the fish smell and that is a truly scary thought." Fenris said worried. Isabella and I both started laughing.

"Well then we might as well go have a pint at the Hanged Man because no ones sentimental there. They probably don''t even know the word." Isabella suggested and we followed her there but not before Fenris gave her a confused look.

"Next she climbed up the ogres back and sitting on its shoulders, one leg on each side of the monsters head, she held onto its horns and drove him into other darkspawn on the field, killing them and protecting her family. When she had finished with those darkspawn she remained on the ogre, the one that killed her sister, and put her hands on both sides of its massive head and froze just the head in place. She then used the horns to swing around and looking at it directly in the eye let her self dangle from the horns using all her weight to pull off the ogres head. She watched the body run around like a chicken with no head for a few second before it tumbled to the ground. She kept the ogres head as a prize." I heard several gasps from the crowd. "She wanted to keep the ogre's head as a trophy and proof of vengeance for her sister but they wouldn't let her on the boat to Kirkwall with it because it scared the children on board. So she tossed it in the water and came to Kirkwall. And that is how Hawke escaped Lothering and the Blight." I heard several more gasps from the crowd and applause and questions and laughter.

"Varric." I said standing behind the crowd looking at him.

"And here is the hero now." Questions began to flood in so fast when he said it I couldn't keep them straight. "Now, now don't trouble her with your questions leave her be she's had a long day. Especially long and exciting today and I'll tell you about her adventures today tomorrow." Varric dismissed them. "Hawke! So good to see you! How did you like the latest retelling of your escape from the horde?"

"It was exceptionally exaggerated. Of course, I'm not completely sure that is a good thing. Varric, how do you come up with these stories?"

"We've been over this before Hawke. I love to hear myself talk and I'm a compulsive liar, what more of an explanation do you need?"

Isabella snorted. "Well you may be the only one who likes your voice." I tried to hide my laugh by coughing.

"That isn't what my loyal followers say."

"And you should keep in mind that you so called loyal followers are regulars in the hanged man." Isabella retorted.

"You may have a point there Isabella." Varric conceded. "Edwina, 4 pints over here on me!" he called. "I see your still with the elf. Has he taught you his personally choreographed dances yet Hawke?"

"I make one joke and the dwarf never lets it go. You need new material." Fenris told him taking a drink.

"You do realize you can call me Aria?"

"Aria isn't much of a hero name." Varric countered.

"Aria is the heroes name you idiot." Isabella slapped Varric on the back of the head.

"Now is that any way to treat the guy that just bought you a drink?" Varric asked.

"Actually, it's how I treat all the guys who buy me drinks." Isabella retorted.

"Wow could you two just sleep together and get it over with."

"What?" Isabella shouted appalled at the same time Varric shrugged and said, "We already have." Fenris and I looked at each other eyes wide and then to Isabella.

"Oh maker tell me he's lying." I said to Isabella.

"He is."

"I am not."

"Damn it Varric I told you not to tell anyone!" Isabella exclaimed.

"Oh that is just disgusting." Fenris said shaking his head and pushing away his drink.

"Isabella it better have been for some dire reason. Do not tell me you just elected to." I pleaded.

"Of course I didn't."

"Because we didn't." Varric said.

"What?" I asked confused.

"Of course we didn't sleep together that is just disgusting."

"I take offense to that." Varric crossed his arms.

"Good." Isabella took a long drink.

"So then why would you tell us that?"

"Well Varric just said it and I figured I would go along to see how easily you would believe me. It was reeealy easy in case you were wondering Hawke." She chuckled and took another drink.

I shook my head. "You two are unbearable."

"If that were true you would have been long gone by now." Varric pointed out.

"Or she would have killed you." Fenris shrugged when we all looked at him. "What? She's good at that." The expression on his face made Isabella crack up with laughter I just smiled and shook my head while Varric tried to steal Isabella's pint. She promptly stopped him by sticking her dagger in between her pint and his hand right before he reached it. The expression on Varric's face made Isabella and I both crack up and I can tell the night is going to continue on in this manner.

We spent another hour in the Hanged Man before Fenris and I had to leave so we could be prepared for another long mundane day tomorrow.

I sat down on the bed and waited for Fenris to join me. He was getting a book so I could continue to help him learn to read. He was doing very well. He walked in the room then.

"Which book tonight?"

"You know I feel stupid doing this, don't you?"

"Yes."

"Then why choose to humiliate me?"

"I am not humiliating you I'm teaching you. You're doing great Fenris. Especially now that I have the time to teach you."

He sighed and sat down. "It is entitled The Warrior Ashtulen's Death."

"Alright open it and we will start." We are beginning a new book tonight after he finished the last one. And of course, I do not mean read it all the way through so much as threw it in the fire out of anger.

"Ashtulen was a warrior once of great im…impor…importance. She was one of the first female warriors to roam Thedas. She was…r…raised in…." He continued reading and I partially let my thoughts drift away. He was becoming better at it but sometimes he would get so frustrated. He knows this is something a child can do and hates that he has not achieved it. He told me once it embarrasses and infuriates him to be seen in such a weak state. But I told him it made no difference to me.

"…Al…although she was later in…in-kin…in-kin-er…What is this word?" He asked anger seeping into his voice.

"You can read it, try again."

"In-Kin-"

"No," I interrupted, "The C makes and S sound."

"In-cin- This is pointless! The letters are switching sounds in different words it is foolish!" He yelled.

"Try again." I said in a stern voice trying to stay calm.

"No. I don't want to do this!" He said getting off the bed.

"You need this!" I said getting off the bed as well and moving stepping towards him.

"Says who? And for what?" he demanded.

"You need it to be able to live and be successful! If you cannot read you cannot do anything!"

"Says the lucky little rich girl who can read!" He said his markings beginning to glow.

I was angry now and I cornered him up against a wall but not fully, no one could ever corner Fenris fully. "I was not always rich. I was cheated out of the opportunity to make my mother happy. I was cheated out of my mother and sister and watched them die in front of me. Yes, I understand you were a slave and you lost your family too but you didn't go through what I did. When Bethany was killed, I could have done something for her and because I didn't do anything in time, my mother blamed me. When I tried to protect my only other sibling, he hated me and ran to the Templars. When I didn't get there in time to save my mother, my uncle blamed it on me. The big difference between you and I is not that my mother was able to teach me to read and yours couldn't but is that you can't blame yourself for losing your family whereas I have no one to blame but myself." I could feel the tears in the back of my eyes but I seared them away with the white hot rage I felt, which was aimed more at myself than at Fenris.

He stared at me then and then he kissed me. Long and hard. It would seem our time that was supposed to be spent teaching him to read will end as it usually does, anger, an argument, someone close to tears, and then staying up late but certainly not for reading. I smiled to myself and kissed him back as he lowered me onto the bed. I spent a second hoping the maid wouldn't come in but remembered that this happens so often she knows better than to think much of our arguments.