** Chapter 2 **

Seconds later everything was very quiet. The majority of guests almost magically left the inn when Danarius appeared. Now some of them were peering inside and slowly returning to their tables.

"I have never heard such silence in the Hanged Man before," Varric remarked. "Are you sure that is what you wanted?"

"Come on, we will talk in your room. This show was enough," Isabela led them upstairs.

"Maybe I am mistaken," Varric seated himself on the couch and continued, "but I thought you, well, rather like Fenris?"

"I rather liked him. But I am really happy that I could remove him from my life once and for all!" Hawke replied angrily and promptly started to cry.

"This is… exactly what I… wanted," she whispered between sobs.

"But slavery left him broken… It took him a long time to learn to trust again. Remember, at the beginning he was suspecting every one of us to stab him in the back any moment. It was very cruel of you," said Isabela.

"I am more worried about what Danarius is going to do with him. He has to punish a slave for escaping. And he is going to enjoy it, I'm afraid," added Varric.

"There is something really repulsive about this mage. It felt as if something cold and slimy was moving over my skin when he spoke," Isabela shivered, glancing at Hawke, who stopped crying and was staring at them with horror and dismay on her face.

"What have I done?! Maker's breath, why didn't you stop me?!" She exclaimed.

"I prefer my head properly connected to my neck, thank you very much," the dwarf snapped.

"It's not that we did not try," Isabela protested. "But you should have seen yourself."

Hawke stood up and impatiently wiped her eyes. She was very pale and her hands were trembling, but her voice was firm and commanding.

"Varric, get Merril and Anders. If Anders refuses, tell him I will deal with him personally. And he is not going to like it. Isabela, find Aveline. I will go to the docks and locate their boat. Meet me there as soon as possible!"

"That's my girl," Isabela smiled with relief.

Hawke run all the way to the docks. She tried to focus on the task, but thoughts were racing through her head. Are they going to make it? Can they save Fenris? What is Danarius going to do with the elf? What if he wanted to reclaim him just to kill him? And the worse question of all: Can she ever be forgiven?

She reached the docks and began to move more carefully, but there was nothing unusual. Workers carrying various stuff, merchants engaged in their usual business, a few guards... A large boat was floating on the water, slowly but steadily moving away from the shore. For a second, Hawke's heart stopped beating. "No," she warned herself, "don't go crazy. You left the inn just a few minutes later. It is just some other boat." Besides, if it really was Danarius with his men, she was going to follow them. Anywhere. Tevinter was not that far, after all.

Hawke moved along the piers, peering into corners and listening to people talking. She even asked a few workers, but learned nothing. After a while, she started to get nervous. Time was running out. Suddenly, she noticed a cloaked figure clearly looking at her from a dark corner between the buildings. She moved closer and with surprise recognized Fenris' sister.

"Please, can we talk?" The woman whispered and drew her deeper into the shadows. "I was looking for you."

"You!" For a second, Hawke forgot why she was actually searching the docks. "You brought this upon him!"

"And you were always his guardian angel, right?" The woman replied sharply and Hawke gritted her teeth.

"I did not mean to upset you," Varania's voice immediately became smooth and polite. It reminded Hawke of Orana, who was perfect in suppressing her emotions in a second. "I wanted to ask you to… think it over. Please, help my brother."

"Do you know where he is?!"

"Yes. The boat can be reached only through a building. They will not leave without me, so you still have some time."

"Is this some kind of trick? Why do you want my help after you brought this man here?"

"I will explain everything, just tell me… Will you help him? My brother has changed. He has never been so rebellious before. Danarius is going to kill him sooner or later. I know you were friends or even more…"

"You know that? Well, you will have to explain that too."

Varania's eyes were dark with fear and anxiety. She seemed to be a completely different person than the cold, emotionless woman from the inn. But did she want to protect her brother or herself? Hawke suddenly felt very tired. "I love him," she said simply. "It's… complicated. We haven't been exactly the happiest couple in Kirkwall. I was furious and I made the biggest mistake in my life. I came here to find him."

"Thank the Maker. But you love him? This is strange…"

"But why did you lead Danarius here? How could you do something like that?" Hawke cut in impatiently.

"I could ask you the same question," Varania retorted, visibly relieved after learning Hawke's intentions. "It seemed to be a good plan, the best I could think of. But everything went wrong…"

"Tell me about it, but be quick, "Hawke interrupted.

"Danarius found me much earlier than Leto did. He followed my every step. He offered me a job as a servant... At least it is a little better than slavery. But I knew he did it because he was after my brother."

"And you agreed?" Hawke asked, doing her best not to sound reproachful.

"You are the Champion of Kirkwall," Varania answered with bitterness in her voice. "You have no idea what I had to do to survive! Sometimes familiar evil is better, at least you know what to expect…"

"I'm sorry," for the first time, Hawke felt a touch of sympathy for the woman.

"When Leto started sending messages, Danarius wanted to set a trap. He gathered information about him, you and your friends. I managed to overhear a lot. I tried to prevent his arrival for some time, but I could not delay it any longer. Leto should have known that Danarius is following me!"

"So what did you expect? That he will just kill his former master?"

"He has been free for a long time, I thought it is possible. From what I learned about you, I thought you would stand by him too…"

"So, basically, you lured your brother into a trap, hoping that we would kill Danarius?" Hawke asked, without commenting Varania's last words.

"What else could I do?"

"You could have escaped, you could have warned him! There are many things you could have done."

"Perhaps I'm not like you… But the time is running out. Danarius…" The woman bent her head and sighed. "He allowed me to go buy a new dress. As a reward."

"What?! Oh, I don't want to listen about this monster anymore. Let's go."

"I will show you the entrance but you should not go there alone."

"I cannot wait for the others. We wasted enough time." Hawke answered sternly.

They moved into a dark alley without noticing that one of the dock workers followed them, hiding behind the crates.