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Aveline hated this idea. Oh sure, it was clever alright, but she felt downright silly in this get-up. How anyone could prance around in all this fancy fabric was beyond her. Donnic stood, guarding the real Hawke, but she noticed more than once his worried glance toward her. Every time, she gave him a smile under her simple mask. Which was itchy on her cheeks.

Aveline sighed heavily and glanced around the busy room. Rich colors of gold, greens, reds, and purples spun and twirled in every space they could fit. Aveline couldn't even see the grey tiles that made up the Keep. The room was cool due to the evening air that poured into the open windows. She leaned over the rail, feeling a bit unbalanced at the lack of armor. It was like being naked when she didn't have her sword. She noticed Hawke hurrying through the mob, a white haired man chasing her. Fenris must have done something to her. But before Aveline could even move, about four or five men were trying to give her a glass of white or red wine. Since she herself didn't normally drink, she tried to politely decline, trying hard to protect Hawke's image. One man, brown haired and dressed in a vibrant yellow suit, took her hand and tried to lead her in a dance. She looked helplessly for Anders, who proved useless. He wasn't even there. The man didn't waste time hearing out her protests.

Aveline glared at the persistent gentleman.

"I do not want to dance," She tried to say, gently pulling her hand out of his. He laughed, a soft and warm sound, and spun her under his arm.

"Every lady loves to dance," He said. "And you had quite a few silky dresses, Milady." His mask, an orange hue, gave Aveline a headache. His voice was velvet and his grip firm and gentle. Hawke's Mabari growled at the man and Aveline stared at him hard.

"You're not any noble around here, who are you?" The man laughed and she noticed she was actually engaged in a dance with him. He led and she followed his movements without missing a step, quite a feat for her since her only dances have been on the battle field. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man in a deep red suit and white wig leave Isabela's area. The scowl on his face was very noticeable.

"Oh, you noticed?" He laughed. Aveline felt danger.

"You, I know you," She stated. The Mabari's low growl grew into a snarl and even a bark. She yanked her hands away from the brightly dressed man and stood defensivly.

"Oh, do you?" His dark hazel eyes narrowed, but his voice was still warm. "Because of you, you little bitch, that damned Guards Capitan had me jailed. But my family is in fact of nobility."

The dog lunged at him and bit his leg very hard, blood soaking the yellow fabric. The man let out a yelp as he kicked the dog to the side. Aveline felt anger rise in her chest. This was that same bastard that had tried to break into Hawke's estate, but her Mabari had scared the man into hiding in her wardrobe. Hawke had sent the dog to fetch her and Aveline was fond of the little beast. It was a part of their family. And he just kicked it.

"Nobility?" Aveline spat and took off her wig. The silky black strands fell away with ease and her firey red hair spilled out. It was messy, she hadn't thought to put it in a pony tail tonight. The man's eyes widened and he took a wobbly step back, obviously nursing his injured leg. The dog had already caused a scene, and from what she could tell Isabela had just screwed them all over. Hawke would understand. "Your family had you disowned. What, you claimed you knew the Champion so they took you back? They're using you as a fast pass into power." She removed her mask with her left hand and crushed it, snapping it into six pieces and letting it drop to the floor. "You smug bastard, let me tell you what you've just done before I hand your ass to you." She used her right hand to grip his collar, lifting him to his toes and causing the once calm and scheming man to sweat and panic. "You just kicked the Viscount's Mabari."

She threw him backwards, letting him stumble down the steps. A brawl had broken out, and she decided she needed to keep order. Suddenly she glanced to Merrill, forgetting the elf girl was there for a moment. She needn't have worried; two men flew far from her section and she saw Merrill looking very confused. Varric was cracking up, tears filling his eyes from the lack of air. She smiled, Varric was the only one who hadn't dressed up for the party. Something about chest hair, she was sure. Isabela had subdued the red suited man and Sebastian had knocked down two men who had apparently fought him. Aveline almost relaxed before she felt a sting to her shoulder. A dagger had barely wedged itself into her skin. The yellow man stared at her as she turned her head back to him. He had thrown it as an attempt at revenge or possibly he was just afraid. She ripped the blade from her dress and held it tightly. She had taken so many blows from all kinds of weapons, this little pocket blade was nothing. She threw it back at him and it pinned his suit to the stone on the floor. He struggled to free his side from it but she bent down and smiled sweetly at him.

"Please let me go! I-I had come to apologize to-to…" She pointed at the knife that had dug its way deep into the floor, his vest with it. "Protection, you see…"

She slugged him across the face. He fell back motionless and she stood up. The Mabari barked happily, obviously pleased. She scratched him behind the ears and patted his head. Then, she took up handfuls of her purple dress and ran up the steps to Donnic. He was running to the doors, trying frantically to keep order. She passed by Isabela, who had torn her dress during her little fray. People were bashing at each other and others were stealing what they could in the confusion. Aveline let out a hearty laugh.

Only Hawke put her in these situations.

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Okay, I realize this is different than my summary, but bear with me. Just get through Merrill's chapter and then it'll be ALL Hawke and Fenris. Plus Anders mixed with his infamous jealousy. I love love-triangles. But for the moment, enjoy these bits of humor. The point of the story will be soon, I promise you. ^_^" Think of these as "fillers." It'll help.