"What did one ocean say to the other ocean?"
"I don't know. What?"
"Nothing, they just waved."
Hawke snorted into her pint of ale and began to choke, feeling the foamy bubbles shoot out of her nose. Through watery eyes, she stared across the table at a chuckling pirate and began to laugh herself.
"Maker, that was an absolutely terrible joke, Isabela," she giggled, wiping her mouth on the sleeve of her intricately detailed bottle green jacket.
Her response seemed to amuse the Admiral. "I know," she agreed with a smirk, "But you hadn't spoken all morning. I thought you'd gone mute. Though judging from the moans of you last night, I wouldn't be surprised."
Lana felt her face flush red. She blew her nose into a handkerchief pulled from her pocket and then dried her chin, stopping it from dripping with foamy ale. "My throat is rather scratchy actually, now that you mention it," she sniggered, "I cried myself hoarse. Andraste's ass, do we ever have bad sex?"
Isabela took another sip of her pint and grinned across the tavern table. "Having sex is like playing bridge, sweetness. If you don't have a good partner, you'd better have a good hand."
"Are you saying that I'm not a good partner?" Hawke asked with a frown. She looked and sounded so much like Bethany in that moment that Isabela had to laugh.
"No, not at all! I'm just saying that I've had my fair share of bad ones," the Rivaini replied. "My hand's had plenty of practice."
Their laughter carried throughout the tavern they were residing in, causing a few stares from the local patrons. Rivain was so secular and varied that even Isabela and her constant lack of pants didn't even stand out (At least not as much as it had in Kirkwall anyway). When their laughter had died out, silence fell over them once more as they both took another sip of ale. Isabela's eyes met Hawke's pointedly and the latter smiled. Conversation seemed to be in short supply on her part.
"Sorry... I know I seem a bit distracted this morning," Hawke said, knowing she was boring Isabela to death. "I've just been thinking..."
"Oh, well no wonder it took you so long then," Isabela said sarcastically.
"Hey!" Lana giggled, slapping her hand. "Give me a break. I've had a long two weeks with you. I'm tired out."
The Rivaini chuckled.
"Sorry, sweetness. I'm still a little drunk. Take no heed. So what were you thinking about that takes all morning?"
Hawke wore a thoughtful expression as she cast her mind back to what she had been contemplating before. "I received a letter today...From Ferelden," she added when Isabela looked confused. A look of understanding crossed Isabela's features then and she nodded. "It requested I return," Hawke continued vaguely, so that anyone over hearing their conversation wouldn't know who she was referring to. "Apparently things are getting more dangerous there, especially in The Hinterlands. Mages and Templars are no longer content with fighting just each other it seems."
"So what? What are we going to do?" Isabela asked, sounding as though she was reluctant to even think about it. "I don't fancy entering that mix again, Hawke. Don't you remember what happened the last time? We're not as young as we once were."
"What's that got to do with anything?" Hawke replied with a smirk, "Old age and treachery will overcome youth and skill any time."
"Maybe you have a point," Isabela chuckled, "But I'm telling you now, sweet thing, I'm not heading back to Ferelden any time soon. You can be damn sure of that."
"I didn't ask you to come with me," Hawke said playfully. "But the offer's there if you want to."
"I know...But I'd rather not. Our... dwarven friend... spoke of rifts in the sky and tears in the veil in his last letter. There's a bloody green breach that can probably be seen from Antiva! I know you love playing the hero, or anti-hero as it were, but I'm afraid I can't tag along this time. Not yet anyway. There's still so much to pilfer here! It's turning me on just thinking about it!"
"I understand," Hawke replied with a chuckle under her breath. She had known already that Isabela was going to remain here in the east, but still, the idea of leaving the woman she loved again was a little difficult to take. Now that she was back, Isabela would be hard to pry from this part of the world. There was much treasure and coin to be had, and the newly, self-promoted Admiral had waited the better part of a decade in Kirkwall for a ship, desperate to hit the open waters again and re-establish her title as Queen of The Eastern Seas. How could Hawke take that away from her after everything they'd gone through to get here?
I couldn't…I won't. She means too much to me to see her miserable again. And bless her, she's having so much fun thieving and killing!
"You sound disappointed," Isabela noticed, folding her arms on the table and leaning in closer, meeting Lana's chocolate-brown eyes.
"I suppose I am," Lana admitted truthfully, "I can't say I want to leave you here for another lost cause. Though I knew it would come to this eventually. And I don't blame you for wanting to stay."
"Are we back to sending dirty letters then?" the Rivaini teased, wearing her familiar crooked grin. She stretched across the table and slid her hand up Hawke's arm then, caressing her soft skin. "Your penmanship really makes me quiver you know. Varric's not the only one who's good with a quill."
"And yours is... getting better," Hawke joked, receiving a nip from the pirate in return. "But yes, I suppose we are," she replied, chuckling, "To think, I only got two weeks with you after so long apart..."
A sadness fell over them then and each took a sip of their drink, trying to ignore it.
"When do you leave?" Isabela asked then, mirroring Hawke's dejected tone. The distance between them had already begun to grow.
"Tomorrow," Lana said regretfully, holding Isabela's hand in hers, stroking it with her thumb affectionately. Their silence became burdened with longing then, neither wanting to say goodbye after so little time spent relaxing in the sun. Yet it was who they were. Hawke would forever be getting roped into things that didn't concern her, and Isabela would be poking her nose (and other things) where it didn't belong. One went looking for trouble, while trouble seemed to find the other. That was the dynamic of their relationship, and neither questioned it when the inevitable would occur and tear them away from their fun.
The Rivaini reached over then and curled her fingers under Hawke's chin, nudging her head up and throwing her a smile.
"Then we'll just have to make the most of today, sweetness. Drink up and we'll get out of here. I'll put it on my tab."
She leaned over and covered Lana's lips with her own, slipping her tongue into her mouth and successfully distracting them both from their pending separation the next day.
##
"So, where do you want to go?" Isabela asked, swinging Hawke's arm playfully as they held hands, strolling down the streets of Llomerryn, blinded by the scorching sun overhead. "There's this really great brothel down—"
"No!" Hawke said in point black refusal, "We've went to a brothel every night this week, Bela! Maker's Breath, I don't think I have any more self-respect left to spare!"
Isabela chuckled. "Oh, Hawke, don't be such a bore!" she teased, "We had fun, right?"
"Yes, we did," Hawke laughed, "But if this is my last night with you then I want it to be with only you. No extras," she added with a snigger, "Even if they were free...sort of."
"Hmm, yes, we really need to start paying for our whores," Isabela smirked, winking at her, "But I see your point, sweetness. My question still stands though. Where do you fancy?"
"The beach? Or we could go for a stroll until I sober up a bit? My hangover's raging right now."
"Sounds good," Isabela agreed, staring out into the distance as though something or someone had caught her attention. A man glanced nervously over his shoulder in their direction, then noticing he had been spotted, proceeded to run down the nearest alleyway to escape. "However it seems I have a debt to collect first...Bloody coward...Come on, Hawke! Back me up!"
Confused, but intrigued all the same, Lana sprinted after Isabela, past the numerous market stalls, weaving in and out of the chattering townsfolk. By the time she caught up with her in the nearest alleyway, Isabela was holding a man upside down by the ankle, dangling him around, watching thick gold coins spill from every orifice of his clothing.
"Yes, I see what you mean, Arthur," she was saying sarcastically, sounding amused. "You really are broke! You've only got around...Maker, thirty sovereigns? ...And you only owe me ten."
"Isabela!" the man called Arthur croaked, his face gradually getting redder as the blood ran to his head. He stared up at her, quaking with fear. "I was gonna pay ya! I swear it!"
"Going to?" Isabela laughed, "There's no 'going to' in my line of work, Arthur. You either pay up, or you don't. And when you don't, well...let's just say you're not the first person I've dangled by the ankle like this."
"My brother...Argh...my brother said he had already squared you up, Admiral!" Arthur tried desperately, the top of his head scraping the ground as Isabela shook him again. More coin clattered to the ground, this time coming from the seam of his rather dirty, smelly underpants. "Or...or was it my sister?" he corrected, fumbling for a length of rope and hoping that it wouldn't hang him. "Yes, it was Cressida! Or...or no, it was my cousin, Wilhelm!"
"Well then, your family tree must be a bloody cactus, Arthur, because you've just named a bunch of pricks!" Isabela chuckled, "Cressida would hardly pay your debt when she owes me even more than you do, and Wilhelm? Ha! I killed him last week...Or rather, Hawke did." She turned to Lana, with a grin on her face. "Sorry, sweet thing. I didn't mean to steal your thunder."
Hawke sniggered. "Don't worry about it, Admiral. He wouldn't have fallen into my trap had you not chased him there."
Arthur's eyes bulged then. "Wil...Wilhelm is dead?" he gasped, "You-You bitch! You ruddy—Argh! Gerrof me! GERROF ME!"
"Stop squirming!" Hawke ordered fiercely, bending down on her hunkers and pointing a finger of warning at Arthur's upside down face. "You owe Isabela, Arthur, and you owe her big. We're taking everything you have now. That's the price for trying to screw us over. Let this be a lesson to you to pay back your next loan on time...m'kay pumpkin?"
She patted his face playfully and Isabela let him drop. Arthur immediately scrambled to his feet and tried to swing for them but as a result of landing on his head, it appeared he was a little concussed. After one swing too many, the vagabond lost his balance and fell over, unmoving and, by all explanations, unconscious.
Isabela chuckled and began to help Hawke pick up Arthur's coin.
"How long do you reckon he'll be out for?" Lana asked, giggling a little herself.
"About an hour at least," Isabela replied, "Serves him right, the scummy bugger. No one diddles me like that and gets away with it."
"Besides me," Hawke joked, her eyes twinkling, "I diddle you on occasion for free."
The Rivaini laughed. "True, you're the exception it seems...like always. Anyhow, let's get out of here. Whatever coin you picked up you can keep. Ferelden's sure to be shy of gold, and I got more back than what I was owed."
"You're too kind," Hawke teased, pocketing her handfuls of gold.
"I know! When did it become so?" Isabela lamented jokingly. "I definitely didn't learn it from you. You're a selfish prat!"
They both giggled and rejoined the rest of the Rivaini shoppers, who were travelling in large groups in the market square, chattering excitedly about the produce available. It seemed that with Isabela back in action on the high seas once more, Llomerryn was prospering more than usual. The Admiral had more contacts in the black market than any other eastern pirate, and she had regained control of all the trade routes in and out of the city. Her new ship, The Eider's Cry, was well known in these parts, almost as infamous as herself. Isabela, having taken no more than a month to reassert her dominance in the region, now ruled the surrounding seas better than she had beforehand now that Castillon and Hayder were long dead.
"Ah I miss those looks," Hawke began, her voice heavy with sarcasm as she saw the reactions and stares that Isabela was generating while they walked across the square together. The highborn eyed her with disdain, while the merchants and dodgier folk with respect. "The nobles in Rivain seem to be familiar with Free Marcher manners."
Isabela sniggered. "They're not just looking at me, sweetness. Do you really think people haven't noticed you travelling with me? Word travel's fast. They know who you are and what you did in Kirkwall. There's as many who would kill you as congratulate you. If Rivain had of been more Chantry inclined, I'm sure the Seekers of Truth or the Templars would have found you by now."
"Didn't you hear? They've disbanded," Hawke informed her with a smirk.
"They haven't disbanded, sweet thing, they've just reformed under a new banner, and I know Varric is close at hand to all the action. He can't help it! He sounds too excited in his letters, even as vague as they are. Maybe you can find out what he's up to once you return to Ferelden."
"I'll do my best," Lana nodded, reassuring her with an arm around her waist, "I think he's going to try and reel me into the cause soon. He keeps hinting at needing my help with something."
"Just watch yourself, Hawke," Isabela warned, as they turned a corner, "I don't like this. A massive hole in the sky can never be good news, but you don't owe anyone anything this time. If Varric lands himself in trouble then we'll by all means help him out...Just don't let him suck you into his heroic bullshit again. We've both read his stories. We both know how it ends."
Hawke said nothing in reply. She didn't much like being told what to do, and getting advice from Isabela not to do anything crazy was pretty rich coming from her. She can bloody talk! Her middle name is trouble! Yet Lana couldn't help but notice the concern coming from Isabela's words. She knew the woman was just looking out for her, but where Isabela's disasters were created by her, Hawke's were created by trying to help others. Maybe Isabela had a point. Hawke always tried to fight for the greater good, and in the end she ended up getting burned worse than before. Perhaps now, with the world seemingly coming to an end, was as good a time as any to be selfish.
##
Present Day
The morning after returning to Bethany's home in The Hinterlands, Hawke woke up to find some letters had been left for her in the night by her trusted messengers. Smiling to herself as she recognised Isabela's untidy scrawl, she opened the wax seal of the Rivaini Port Authority by sliding her finger underneath, and unfolded the salty-smelling browned piece of vellum. Holding the note up closer to the candlelight, her bleary brown eyes began to read:
Hope your booty made it back to shore in one piece, sweet thing. Sorry for making you swim the last mile but a bet's a bet. Plus you know how much I love making you wet.
Say 'Hi' to Beth and Charade for me. I'm sure they're glad to get you home, even if it's only for a while. Also, if you find out who Bethany's secret crush is, let me know. I've been wrecking my brains for ages to figure it out but...the girl's got stranger taste than I do.
If and when you see our dwarven friend, buy him a pint or two and fiddle with Bianca on my behalf. That's one piece of wood that I'd just love to get my hands on. She's the only trigger in Thedas I haven't sprung.
Take care of yourself and be careful. There are still lots of people who want you dead and I'm afraid I'm not into necrophilia much. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you now.
If I come across anything interesting I'll send it your way.
P.S. My drawings are improving, don't you think?
Hawke sniggered as she spotted the crude sketch of a naked woman with her legs open at the bottom of the page, carrying out a sex act. Oh Isabela, she sighed inwardly. Shaking her head and still chuckling, she tucked the note into her drawer along with the others she'd received long ago, then began washing herself over the stone basin in the corner. She threw on some clean clothes from her closet and entered the living area.
"Didn't she sleep last night?" Lana asked, seeing Bethany nursing a whimpering ginger babe in the corner.
"Not a wink," Bethany replied tiredly, "I tried giving her milk but she doesn't seem to want it."
"Maybe I can try," Hawke offered.
"No, it's fine," her sister said, ignoring Lana's outstretched arms. "You've got a lot to be getting on with. We're running low on firewood. Do you think you could go out and get some?"
"I can try," Hawke said, looking out a crack in the boarded up window. "I doubt I'd be able to find anything dry though. Can't you use your magic?" Bethany didn't reply. Confused, Lana turned back to her, noticing for the first time since her return that Bethany seemed out of sorts a bit. She didn't look healthy. "Beth?"
Her little sister put baby Lana back in her bassinette and sank onto the armchair, breathing rather heavily.
"Bethany!" Hawke gasped, rushing over to her side, crouching down in front of her. She took her face in her hands. "Look at me, pretty thing." Bethany's brown eyes looked hazy and out of focus as they stared weakly back at her. "What's happened to you?"
"Nothing..." she gasped, "Nothing...I'm fine..."
"Don't bullshit me, Beth! Speak to me."
Bethany swallowed, her skin becoming even whiter. Her face was drenched in a clammy sweat and she seemed close to losing consciousness.
"There's a...a shift in the Veil," she managed to whisper. "It's...a-affecting my magic. The demons...the demons w-whisper to me...M-more so than ever .I think there's a r-rift nearby."
"A rift?" Hawke asked. She had never seen one up close, and didn't particularly want to. Her sister nodded. "Does this happen a lot?"
"On o-occasion," Bethany groaned, closing her eyes and hunching over as though she had a stomach ache. "I'll be fine in a few minutes...I just have a painful migraine."
Lana stood up and filled a mug of water in the scullery. She forced the cup into Bethany's shaking hands and massaged her back.
"Is there anything I can do?"
Her little sister shook her head. "The only person I've heard of who can close the rifts is the Inquisitor."
"The what?" Hawke asked, confused.
"It's what they call the Herald of Andraste." Bethany nodded her head towards something on the small round coffee table in front of her. "But enough of this. You have bigger things to worry about. An urgent letter arrived last night from Varric when you went to bed," she informed her. "You should read it..." Her face dropped then and she looked sad. "I don't think we're going to be spending much time together soon, Sister."
Lana's heart broke a little, hearing her words. She snatched the letter from the table and hastily opened it, disappointed for the first time in her life to see the dwarf's handwriting.
Hawke,
('It must be serious if he's using my real name,' thought Lana)
I'm afraid you're going to have to come out of hiding. I know it was me who put you on the path of the Carta to save Bethany, which led you to Corypheus, and I know you said you killed him but...Hawke it's him. He's back. This whole mess, the Breach, the explosion in Haven, The Divine's death...It was all Corypheus. Somehow he survived.
I don't even know how to explain this, especially not in a letter. The world needs you to step in. You're the only one who's faced him before. Aveline wrote to Leliana, informing her something's happening with the Wardens in Adamant Fortress. Donnic is on the run from her superiors. Aveline wanted to come herself but it was easier for her husband to slip free. He'll make contact with you soon. We both think both Corypheus and the Warden's strange behaviour are related... A scary thought.
I've done everything in my power to keep the Seeker from you and hide you from even Leliana herself (do you have any idea how hard that was? The woman could tell you what the Arishok had for breakfast!). I regret to admit, you're sorely needed now though. I've left you directions to Skyhold where the Inquisition is based. Meet me on the rafters in secret and I'll introduce you to the Inquisitor. She's nice. You'll like her.
I'm sorry. I owe you more than a pint when you get here...that's if Seeker Cassandra doesn't kill me first for lying to her all this time.
See you, Hawke. Apologise to Sunshine for me. I know she was looking forward to getting you home.
Varric
Lana sank onto the armchair behind her, face ashen with worry. To say she was in shock was an understatement.
"Corypheus," she whispered hoarsely, staring unblinkingly at her sister, both of them remembering the fight they'd shared with him. It had been the toughest battle they'd ever faced. "He...he survived...?"
"I know," Bethany empathised, "But it can't be...We killed him!"
"He was dead," Hawke agreed, remembering prodding him with her dagger more than once to be sure. "More than dead...We made sure of it."
The more she thought of it though, the more she became unsure. Did we start this? she wondered, Did we make a blunder that set Corypheus free? Is the Divine dead because of me? Her thoughts fell on Leliana then and her heart warmed. She knew her old flame had been very close with the Divine. She was her Left Hand after all. Hawke's stomach dropped then. Surely Leliana wasn't handling the news well. She'd already lost the Hero of Ferelden.
Hawke jumped to her feet then. "I have to go," she said, having made up her mind, the image of a grieving Leliana scorched into her mind. "I need to go, now! I have to fix this, Beth!"
"There must be another way!" Bethany said. "You can't! You've only just arrived, Lana."
Lana crossed the room and held her sister, seeing she was about to cry.
"I've got to, Beth," she apologised, burying her face in her sister's flowery-scented hair and closing her eyes as she hugged her tightly. She hated leaving her. "I'm sorry. I'll bring word of the rift nearby to the Inquisitor to see if she can do anything about it. Then you can use your magic freely again and provide for Charade. Don't be afraid to wield magic, Sister. You'll never succumb to a demon. Father taught you well."
She broke free from their embrace and rushed to her room, picking up her bag and stuffing her few unpacked possessions back inside. Bethany followed, bringing a few things to eat from the scullery, including a tub of last night's nug stew leftovers.
"Be careful, Lana," she said sadly. "I know you're probably sick of hearing those words by now but promise me you won't do anything stupid."
"Do I ever?" Lana half-joked, still having not recovered from the shock at Corypheus' resurrection.
"I'm serious, Sister. You're the only family I have left."
"What are you talking about, you have Charade now."
"We've only known each other a short while, Lana," Bethany reminded her. "It's not the same. You are my blood. We've both been through the Void together."
"Then I'll try not to end up there permanently," Hawke promised, giving her a reassuring smile and a pat on the shoulder. She grabbed her coat from the clothes horse where she had left it drying last night and put it on. "Say goodbye for me? Hold the fort, little sis. I'll be back before you know it...and for the love of The Maker, will you tell Isabela who your crush is before she has an aneurism? Maker's Breath, she's been torturing me for information for months."
Bethany chuckled through her tears. "I think I'll let her imagination run wild for a little longer. I'll write to her to let her know where you've gone."
"She won't be happy," Lana relented, "She's already told me this was none of my business and that I have no right getting involved."
"I never thought I'd agree ever with her wholeheartedly, Sister, but this time she's right," Bethany said softly. "Don't take unnecessary risks. They have the Inquisitor for that. You've done your part."
Lana nodded. She pulled Bethany into another tight hug once more and placed a kiss on the top of her head.
"I'll see you soon, Bethany, " she said, her voice cracking. "Right after I save the world...I promise."