Chapter 2:

As soon as Hawke entered her home, a large brown mass launched itself at her clipping her knees and knocking her to the floor.

"Shield!" Hawke snapped throwing up an arm to fend off the mabari's vicious slobber attack. "Ugh, come on, I have to go back out and I while I might be Ferelden it doesn't mean I like smelling like wet dog." The mabari continued with his relentless attack for another few seconds before he snuffed and back away to sit a few feet from her. He regarded her with his large brown intelligent eyes, fondly and curiously. Hawke wiped the drool from her face on the arm of her shirt and stood up.

Shield's short stubby tail thumped weakly on the floor. She smiled down at him. "If I didn't need to go out to the Hanged Man I would take you out on patrol with Aveline and me tonight." She knelt down in front of the hound. Taking both of her hands, she rubbed behind his ears. "But maybe I can talk Aveline into training some new recruits with you tomorrow."

Thump, thump, thump… Hawke's smile grew. At least she could please one person…being tonight. Sighing regretfully she stood up. She really should spend more time with Shield, but her thoughts were elsewhere at the moment. She had shirked her duties to go patrolling the Wounded Coast for the day.

She walked into the parlor and wasn't surprised at all to discover a large pile of messages left on the side table for her. Rolling her eyes she continued up the staircase toward her bedroom.

"Ah, mistress, I was wondering when you would return." Orana stated pushing open the side door to the kitchens. She had good ears and uncanny knack of knowing when Hawke returned to the estate. It could have been Shield's thumping tail and yip of excitement that alerted her to Hawke's return. She glanced down at the dog. Who had followed her into the parlor and was starting to make his way up the stairs with her.

The house was lit with a fire in all the fireplaces and a few candles were placed about as well, though the windows had all the curtains thrown open to let the sunlight stream through. It was well past noon and getting toward sunset. Hawke had been out all day on the Coast. She hadn't meant to be gone that long, but after Aveline had delivered the disturbing news about someone asking after her friends the guardswoman had stayed to help Hawke finish her patrol and they talked about when and where to meet up before going down to the Hanged Man to meet Varric. Hawke had simply wanted to meet Aveline at the Hanged Man, but the guard captain wouldn't hear of it. So she had promised to meet her at the bottom of the stairs that led up to the Viscount's Keep around sundown.

Hawke wanted to bathe before she went to the Hanged Man. She knew that she could walk into the establishment covered in any kind of filth and the barkeep wouldn't care. But she was hot, tired, sweaty and covered, thanks to Shield, in dog drool. She wanted to relax before embarking on another adventure.

"Orana, dear, would you draw me up a bath." Hawke asked smiling brightly.

Orana beamed back. "Of course, mistress. Oh, and I left your messages on a side table for you. You had quite a few people drop by today too."

"Oh, well, no surprise there. Most of them probably slammed the door on their way out too."

"As a matter of fact several did." Orana's large eyes widened slightly. "They were angry with you, mistress."

Hawke smiled trying to ease the girl's slip of fear. Orana was getting better at understanding that she need not fear anything from Hawke, but every once in a while the girl would slip and her old fear of her former master would creep up.

"It's alright, Orana, I deserve their anger at least this time." Hawke stated flippantly. "I'm going to grab a change of clothes and then I will be down to bathe." She started up the stairs again. Shield padded softly behind her. She didn't glance back at Orana, though she knew the girl was probably staring after her wondering what her new 'master' was all about. Orana had been with her for years now, but still the girl called her mistress. Sometimes it was endearing, but sometimes it was annoying.

A sigh escaped her lips as she entered her bedroom. Orana had taken over Bohdan and Sandal's positions once the two had left for Orlais six months back. Bohdan had been working with the girl for the past year before that helping to grow accustomed to the extra work. He even suggested that Hawke maybe hire someone else to help with the work. But Hawke was one person and she really didn't need much. She did a lot on her own or at least tried too. Though it was nice to come home to a prepared meal and bath with clothes laid out to dress in after said bath, but she could do all that herself if necessary.

Hawke didn't want to admit it, but having Orana around was more or less selfishness on her part. She really liked having the company. She missed her mother and siblings. While Fenris did come around and sometimes when she needed to get away she would sneak over to his place for a night, it wasn't the same as having family around. She felt alone most of the time. Orana filled that loneliness to a degree.

Hawke opened the door to her room, her thoughts completely occupied with to what degree of loneliness she was in that she would keep a serving girl around in order to sooth some of it away, that she completely missed Shield's warning growl. Hawke crossed her room and was just pulling open the top drawer of her dresser when a hand clamped over her mouth. She felt cold sharp metal pressed against her throat.

Shield growled again and then barked savagely with a snap of strong powerful jaws.

"Shit! She's got the hound with her." A gruff voiced man spat behind her. It was not the man holding the knife to her throat.

"Kill it." The voice was calm and collected, pleasant with a tinged of spice. Sexy, but deadly. It was the voice of the man holding her. Her eyes narrowed. The hand on her mouth tightened as did the blade at her throat. "Now then, Serrah Hawke. Would you be so kind as to come with me? Quietly if at all possible. If not well we can do this the hard way."

Shuffling and snapping jaw sounds came from behind her. She cursed the fact that her staff was strapped across her back pinned between her and her attacker. Hawke rolled her eyes. She had been doing that a lot lately. They were going to get permanently stuck inside her head.

Shield yelped. Hawke flinched straining her ears to hear if the fighting continued. When it did she relaxed slightly. Curling her hand into a fist, she waited. She wanted to see what these bastards wanted.

"Shit," the gruff man cursed again.

"Just kill it quickly." Her captor stated again. He started backing away toward the door nearly dragging Hawke with him. "Stop playing, Michele."

Michele. That was an Orlaisian name. But the accent on the man holding her was more Antivian. Hawke's brow furrowed. Either these two were extremely stupid or skilled at their jobs. They had managed to get into her house in broad daylight, which meant they had gotten past both Orana and Shield. But they were planning on walking out the door with her in broad daylight. Unless….

Shit!

Hawke's eyes sprang open wide. She knew how they had gotten in and how they were planning on getting out. The cellar entrance.

There were tunnels that led to Darktown down in the cellar. It was once a place where slavers used to transport 'cargo' to ships at the docks. They were also escape tunnels if one should ever need them. There weren't many people alive that knew about them. Family. That was it. Fenris and Orana knew, but they would never tell anyone. That just left…Gamlen.

Hawke cursed and squirmed in the smooth talker's grip. "Enough, lovely, or I'll have to do this the hard way. And I hate the hard way." Hawke's skin crawled as he breathed the words on her neck. And he pressed the knife a little deeper nicking her flesh. A drop of blood welled up and slipped silently down her neck. She stopped struggling and puffed out a determined breath.

Might as well play along for now. Let's see what these bastards want before I boil their blood in their bodies. .

Hawke smile was a ghost of a grin behind her kidnapper's hand. Who knows this could be fun.