Everyone's movement ceases in the passageway as all eyes instantly swivel up to the rough ceiling, as if by intently watching the point where the sound is filtering down from, they will somehow gain a modicum of control over the situation. The warm white light coming from Anders' staff suddenly winks out again, but this time at the behest of its creator. Hawke feels his hand reach out for hers in the darkness and the warmth as it entwines around her own gives her a small temporary feeling of safety. Her other hand automatically drops to the hilt of her sword, but she does not unsheathe it knowing full well that any noise, however small, could give them away.
"Damn looters, they're almost as bad as the mages" an angry voice shouts from above." Too bad we don't have orders to kill them as well."
As the owner of the new voice steps into the house from the entryway, all movement above instantly stops. "If I can offer the head of that blonde apostate as a gift to whomever the Knight Commander's replacement is, then I bet I'll be promoted ,and not even that mage's whore,the so called Champion of Kirkwall will stand in my way of that chance." The unknown voice spits out Hawke's former title with loathing.
"Search the entire house, I've already lost my prize of the Champion's sister when she managed to escape, I'll not easily part with this one too. "
Her ears barely receive the words drifting down between the small cracks in the floorboards before her grip tightens painfully around Anders' hand and the hilt of her sword as her mind frantically tries to assimilate the statement she has just heard. Bethany! Thank the maker, this means she's alive, the thought explodes through her head. She forces the hand gripping the hilt of her sword to unclench and fly up from her side to tightly cover her mouth in a desperate attempt to stifle the relived sob that is trying to escape from the back of her throat, as her legs start to give out from under her and she sinks to the dirt floor.
Strong arms wrap around to catch her as she falls and Anders slowly and silently lowers both of them to the ground. He can feel the intense shuddering of her body as she fiercely pushes her face against his chest, desperately trying to smother her sobs into the fabric of his old robe before the sound can drift up though the floorboards, her hot tears quickly soaking into the cloth as he holds her. He lowers his lips to the top of her head to place a gentle kiss there, freeing one of his hands from her tight embrace as he does so, to stroke her hair in a soothing repetitive motion to quiet her in the same way one might comfort a child suddenly waking from a nightmare.
She is already awake for this nightmare the thought rises suddenly and unbidden in the back of his mind.
You are the reason she thought her sister dead.
The persistent thought grows stronger but he is unsure if it is Justice or his own inner voice that is doing the condemning.
The sounds from above start to intensify as the men spread out in their search of the estate and for the second time in one day Hawke is forced to endear the helpless feeling of having to hide down below while she listens to her home being destroyed above. A small part of her keenly mourns the loss, and these new tears now intermingle with the ones already streaming down her face. Her silent sobbing eventually tapers off as the following numbness slowly starts to set in.
She is vaguely aware of the passage of time. The minute rays of light that faintly drift through the narrow slats of the floor above start to lengthen as the afternoon wears into early evening. The noise above grows fainter as the Templars start to search the upper floors and the exhaustion of the day begins to pull at the corners of her eyes as she reclines back into the warmness of the mage's body. The back of her head rests against his chest, as she absently listens to the sound of his breathing and feels the steady heartbeat that thrums against her back. She leans further back against him and allows her eyes to briefly close as warm arms wrap around her protectively.
She hears voices, many voices raised in anger as she tries to focus her vision on what is happening, but she cannot seem to shake this warm fug that has descended on her brain. It slows her and in her mind it seems to take forever for her right hand to move to her side as she fumbles for the grip of her sword. The sharp sound of splintering wood fills the enclosed space and is followed closely by a guttural cry cut abruptly short from the same direction. She frantically tries to open her eyes wide, to take in this threat, but still everything seems unfocused and blurry. Her mind races through the choices of what might have happened, desperately trying to find a logical reason in answer to her growing panic.
She realizes she is crouched on the ground as her eyes try to focus in on a face that suddenly appears out of the blurry foreground. Almost as if in answer to her unspoken questions a voice joins the hidden visage.
"Sorry princess, business is business after all"
She recognizes that voice.
Varric?
The panic explodes as her mind instantly tries to reject this thought. She tries to see where the splintering sound is coming from and horror overtakes her face as she finally focuses on a group of armed Templars that are rushing through the now open doorway. The metal of their drawn swords shine brightly and she can clearly see one of the soldiers as he swings his sword downward in a powerful stroke to parry a strike from Aveline. The force of the blow knocks her friend back and as she starts to fall the Templar steps forward to complete the movement, his sword sliding easily through Aveline's torso spraying an arc of dark red blood into the air. Hawke tries to scream, as the Templar pulls his sword free and Aveline slowly falls to the floor,but the sound that escapes from her constricting throat only comes out as a horse cry. She sees Donnic on the ground, the blood already pooling around his still form and she realizes belatedly that the guttural cry that she had heard before must have belonged to him. Her growing horror only increases as she helplessly watches as both Bodahn and Sandal are effortlessly cut down where they stand, trying to defend themselves.
She frantically scans the room searching for Anders and time seems to slow even further as she locates him in the far corner of the room, eyes blazing blue as he screams his defiance of the hated Templars. The spell he unleashes knocks her to the ground, but she still hears his anguished scream, like that of a wounded animal, as the brute force of the remaining soldiers overpower him, catching him in the brief moment that it takes to cast again. She closes her eyes as they start to unfocus again and only hears the soldiers as they walk over to where she is lying stunned on the ground. "Bitch, we're going to have a little fun with you before we send you to the Maker" a voice snarls at her as she feels rough hands pin her down to the floor. She tries to scream again, but a blood covered hand clamps down hard over her mouth making her want to retch from the pungent copper smell as she fights for breath.
"HAWKE!" the insistent whisper comes out of the darkness as her panicked mind tries to take in her surroundings. The hand is still clamped over her mouth, but it isn't covered in blood anymore and it now somehow seems less threatening. "I'm going to take my hand away, but you have to promise not to scream. Can you do that?" the voice whispers close to her ear now. As she tries to nod her head she realizes that she recognizes this voice as well.
"Anders?" she whispers back as he slowly takes his hand away.
She feels him nod his head in response behind her. "You were having a dream, a nightmare. When you started to cry out in your sleep I had to silence you so they wouldn't hear it"
"Makers breath, a dream? It all felt so real" her shocked and shaking voice whispers back to him as she takes in a huge shuddering gulp of air.
"It seems like they are finishing up their search of the house. They came down to the basement to look around, but they didn't stay long. That's why I had to silence you; they were almost on the other side of the wall when you tried to cry out."
"Oh Maker, I almost got us all killed" she replies in a still shaky voice.
"Don't worry; it seems to be happening a lot today. I've already done it once myself, and the night is still young" he lamely jokes, trying to ease the haunted look that has now appeared in her eyes, but only succeeding in making the corners of her mouth turn up into a half smile for a second before falling back into a pained grimace.
She takes in another huge breath of air. "We should wait another hour, to make sure they are really gone before we try to leave, but we all need to decide which direction we should take after we get out of town. Hopefully we will choose the same one that Bethany has."