Sebastian, still holding Hawke's hand in his own, felt a resolution taking shape inside himself that made him see that his previous decision had still been too lukewarm and safe. Walking by her side like this, the warmth of her hand radiating into his skin, and, more importantly, knowing she felt the same way about him, it became difficult for him to remember why he had extricated himself from her lips. He was a prince after all. And princes weren't meant for chastity...
Hawke felt his eyes on her as they reached the main hall and turned to look at him.
"What?" she asked with a smile.
Sebastian stopped her but before he had a chance to open his mouth to answer, they were intercepted by Bodahn's son, who walked over to them with something in his hand.
Sandal smiled up at Hawke. "Enchantment?" he said and reached out to hand her a sealed letter.
"Is this for me?"
"Enchantment!" Sandal replied, leaving the letter in Hawke's hand and returning to his work table.
"He doesn't say much, does he?" Sebastian said as he watched the young dwarf pick up a seemingly innocent rock from the desk and began carving something on it.
"No. But you should see the way he livens up a party with his explosions," she smirked.
He smiled back and their eyes locked again. Her eyes softened as she looked at him, tugging at his heart.
Sebastian almost told her what he was going to say before Sandal had interrupted them but he noticed something was bothering him... A recent memory and the voice of Elthina, his mentor and wisest advisor...
Do you think the Maker wants another rashly-spoken vow that you'll abandon when the next passion takes you? This is your life, child. Don't spend it being blown about like a weathervane...
Hawke raised her hand and brushed the line that had appeared between his dark brows. "What's the matter?" she asked him softly.
"Nothing..." he shook his head slowly and decided maybe it wasn't the best time to say something, not when there were still doubts shackling him to his past; he needed time to straighten things out in his head. So instead, he took her hand and pressed his lips to her palm, holding it against his face with his eyes closed.
He opened his eyes and gazed at her when a sigh that had escaped from Hawke's lips reached his ears, a look of longing in her azure eyes.
"...Are you sure I can't kiss you again?" she said.
Sebastian chuckled and set her hand free. "Maybe you should open that letter. It looks important."
Hawke sighed again as she stretched her fingers, the sudden emptiness in her hand like a cold winter breeze, and looked down at the letter. It had the viscount's seal on it. Intrigued, she broke the seal and took out a short note written in Viscount Dumar's elegant handwriting.
"Who is it from?" Sebastian asked when he watched a frown forming on her brow.
"The Viscount," she replied. "It seems he can't live without me."
"Is something wrong?"
"He wants to talk me. He says, and I quote, that it is a matter of the utmost privacy and urgency," she said, turning to look up at him, and then added with a smirk, "Do you think he is missing a tea partner?"
"It sounds serious," Sebastian replied.
She agreed. Hawke didn't like the sound of it either.
"Would you walk with me to the Viscount's Keep?"
"Of course."
She sighed. "I was rather looking forward to a pint."
Sebastian observed the now too-familiar pattern of the floor outside the viscount's office as he waited for Hawke. He had stood there countless times before in the last years, waiting to see the man in the hope he could get support and troops. Unsuccessfully, of course. He wondered at how Hawke had managed to become a needed ally to the viscount in such a short time and in what appeared to be a random manner: she seemed to just stumble into this type of situation without really meaning to.
Maybe with Hawke by his side, it would become easier to reclaim Starkhaven...
He brushed aside the sudden thought, considering it rather improper, and raised his eyes when he felt, more than saw, someone approaching. The seneschal gave him a cold greeting and an annoyed look as he passed next to him on the way to his office. Sebastian frowned: that man seemed to live in an eternal state of exasperation.
The prince went back to observing the floor and let his mind wander back to what had happened between him and Hawke less than an hour ago; he still couldn't believe that Hawke had accepted him with the condition he had asked for. Overwhelmed by the joy that was beaming inside his chest, he knew he must be one of the most fortunate men in the world, and the thought put a silly smile on his face.
Yet, he could also feel a darkness that kept trying to invade the edge of his happiness; a disquiet looking for a way into his heart, but he ignored it, not wanting to deal with the consequences of his decisions right now... Of the kiss.
Ah, the kiss...
He passed his hand down his mouth as he remembered the kiss Hawke had started and he had ended, retracing each and every move and sensation, until he was interrupted by a voice calling his name and his eyes darted back up, looking guilty and flushed.
He coughed and returned the greeting from a noble that was passing by.
"Maker's breath..." he said under his breath and rubbed his forehead.
He jumped when the door next to him suddenly opened. Hawke came out of the viscount's office, brows knitted.
"What is it?" he asked her, forgetting his previous train of thought.
"Trouble," was her only reply and she beckoned him to follow her in silence.
They hurried up, away from the viscount's office, and only when they were going down the stairs towards the exit did Hawke speak up.
"We need backup," she said, her voice only for his ears.
"All right..." Sebastian had no idea what was going on but he knew it must be important if Hawke was being this secretive so he saved his questions for later. "Are we picking Aveline up?"
"No, we can't involve the guards in this. Let's go look for Varric and Isabela. I'll explain later," she almost whispered to him as they left the Viscount's Keep behind them.
After that, they only made one stop to pick up Hawke's mabari from her house and then walked in silence all the way to the Hanged Man.
They reached the tavern not before long and started looking for their friends as soon as they were inside. Hawke noticed an irritation starting to spread all over her mood when they couldn't find them quickly; she realized she didn't feel like being there, surrounded by so many people, and immersed again in a problem that was none of her business. She wanted to be alone with Sebastian...
Smothering her desire with sheer will, she moved away from the door, pulling him with her.
"Where are they?" she asked.
"I don't see them..."
"Me neither."
"Wait. There's Varric."
Sebastian led the way to the small fireplace where Varric was gulping down a pint.
"Varric." Hawke said as soon as they reached him.
"Hey, you're here!" Varric raised his arms to welcome them, the empty pint still in his hand. "I can see your talk didn't go too well..." he added when he noticed the worried expression that was glued to his friends' faces.
"What? Oh... No, that went well," she said as her eyes darted to Sebastian's face and a smile strayed over her lips, stealing a blush from the prince's expression.
"Oh, I see..." Varric smirked. "Now I'm positively intrigued!"
Hawke interrupted him, "Now it's not the time. Where's Isabela?"
Varric had to drop it when he heard the urgency behind Hawke's voice. "I don't know. She disappeared on me all of a sudden."
"Damnation..."
"What's wrong, Hawke?"
"Can we talk in your private quarters?"
"You are starting to worry me," he said after nodding and led them to the back of the tavern.
As soon as they reached Varric's chambers, Hawke ordered Howl to guard the door and finally turned around to explain to Sebastian and Varric what the viscount had told her.
"Seamus Dumar is missing."
"The viscount's son? Again?"
"He left to join the Qun and damn the consequences. Viscount Dumar thought I would be the best option to try and bring him back. Lucky me."
"Andraste's flame. This isn't good," Sebastian said.
"Tell me about it. I don't think I need to tell you how ugly things could get because of that. The viscount doesn't want to involve the guard so he asked me to talk to the Arishok in person."
"You're too charming for your own good, Hawke. Even the horned, broody giants seem to like you. I don't envy you."
"You don't need to. You're coming with me."
"Oh, thank you for such a gracious invitation to see my favorite race in the world."
"Don't ever say I never did anything nice for you," she said, smirking. "Alright, we don't have time to pick up anyone else. We have to go to the docks now, before things get out of hand."
"You don't need to tell me twice, Hawke. The last thing I want is to see berserk Qunari invading my tavern." Varric grabbed Bianca, strapped her to his back, and added, "Although I do wonder how on earth do you manage to get involved in every single problem of this city..."
"I was wondering that myself," Sebastian said, the side of his mouth curved up in a smile.
She rolled her eyes. "It must be my irresistible charisma. That or my inability to say no to people in need. Let's go."
Hawke turned her back on them and walked off, leaving them to follow her steps with amused smiles on their faces.
Howl trotted ahead of them when they exited the Hanged Man, running back only when he felt he needed to check on his pack. The rest walked behind him at a fast but steady pace.
"So, did you steal choir boy's virtue this afternoon?" the dwarf asked Hawke and Sebastian as they made their way to the Qunari compound. He had noticed the little changes that had occurred in their relationship between the last time he had seen them and now; the awkward glances from the corner of eyes were now replaced by tender gazes of ones who had become accomplices in some precious secret they were guarding from the rest of the world.
Needless to say, he was dying to know the details.
Hawke laughed. "What? We're in the middle of averting a war and that's what you're thinking about?" she reprimanded him with a twinkle in her eye as Sebastian gawked at Varric.
"Oh, come on, Hawke. I'm sure you can share a saucy detail or two with me before we jump into the snake pit."
"She did no such thing, Varric," Sebastian said, uncomfortable because the memory of the kiss had come back to crash over him with full force.
"And it's none of your business if I had," Hawke finished Sebastian's phrase as she watched with amusement the blush that was spreading over her beloved's skin.
"So what happened then? If you don't tell me I'm going to have to make up my own version and you know how that will go."
"No."
"Hawke..." he pleaded. "Something. Anything!"
"Varric..."
"Alright, just answer me one question."
"One."
"Are you two together now? A couple?"
Hawke and Sebastian looked at each other. He shrugged at her, smiling.
When her eyes returned to Varric's face, they were smiling. "I guess you could say that."
"Ha! I knew something had changed! So you finally decided to throw that silly chastity vow out of the window, huh? Good for you!" Varric patted Sebastian's back with his heavy hand and, then added as an afterthought, pretending to be shocked, "But what will the grand cleric think?"
Sebastian frowned and didn't even try to correct Varric's first assumption. "I...have no idea," he answered; that was a question he too had been asking to himself.
Hawke noticed Sebastian's change of mood but didn't comment on it.
"Come on, Varric, drop it. We can all have a nice chat about our private affairs later when we have sorted this situation out."
Varric had no choice but to obey Hawke because Howl had returned from a scouting trip and stayed close to them, a low rumble coming from deep inside his chest. A warning sign.
They had reached an unsavory part of town they needed to cross to get to the docks. It was a dark alleyway they usually used as a shortcut but today it reeked with danger. And human waste.
Howl started to growl when they were just a few steps into it, the hair on his back standing up. All of them quickly grabbed hold of their weapons and got ready for any threat the mabari could sense that they couldn't. Sebastian had an arrow ready on his bow before Howl had finished his first growl and started scanning their surroundings, his aim ready. They were in the perfect spot to be ambushed, out in the open, completely vulnerable. The only way out of the alley were the stairs on the other side but there was too much open space on the second level that could get overrun by enemies fast.
They kept advancing in silence until Varric raised his hand to stop them; he signaled with the same hand to the ground, informing them there was a trap right in front of them. Hawke, Sebastian, and Howl positioned themselves to cover Varric while he knelt down to disarm the hazard.
Sebastian spared a second of his attention to check on Hawke, whose fingers were already surging with energy. Her eyes meet his and a silent acknowledgement passed between them; they knew they had walked right into a trap but there was no backing away now: they needed to reach the docks.
A wave of shouts broke their locked gazes. Sebastian had been right; the empty open space was now full of mercenaries. He spotted a man on the second level running towards him and jumping over the fence with a pair of daggers raised in the air. A rogue.
Sebastian let his arrow fly and sent it right through the man's chest. He quickly stepped back just in time to avoid the dead weight of the body and had a new arrow already aimed at the next mercenary.
This time the arrow pierced the neck.
"Scoot!"
He heard Hawke shout at him and he lowered his upper body just before he felt a shot of lightning char the air above his back. A scream filled the air for a second before he heard a thud.
"One less to worry about," she winked at him and dived back into the fight.
Sebastian allowed himself a little smile before he turned around, just in time to watch Howl rip a man's throat out. Four more of his arrows sang through the air before his bow ran out of targets.
Just when he thought they were done, Sebastian heard Varric, who had been covering their backs, shout at them,
"Grab something sharp and pointy. We have company!"
Howl ran pass him like a demon and a gurgle reached Sebastian's ears before he could turn around to see a fresh batch of mercenaries closing in on them from behind.
"Fly straight and true..." he whispered to his arrow and released its deadly sharpness straight at his target.
Soon, the battle was over.
Varric and Sebastian began the tedious task of retrieving the arrows that could be salvaged from the corpses; Varric congratulating Bianca on her brilliant work, Sebastian whispering a prayer for the soul of the dead.
Hawke watched them as they moved across the battleground, checking if any of her companions had received any serious injury but they seemed to be fine, all things considered. The party had managed to avoid permanent damage so she scanned her own body and found a particularly nasty gash she had on her left arm. She touched it gently and then saw Sebastian's hand touching it too.
"That doesn't look good," he said.
She looked up and saw his concerned eyes.
"It's just a scratch," she told him in return, placing her hand over his. "I'll be fine."
"I hate to interrupt you, love birds, but we should get going. I would bet my beard, if I had one, that these fine fellows here were sent to stop us from reaching the docks."
"He is right," Sebastian agreed. "But who hired that lot? Someone anti-Qunari, anti-viscount, or Seamus himself not wanting to be rescued?"
Hawke shook her head. "Seamus isn't the type. Let's go."