I didn't have as much time to edit this chapter, so hopefully it reads okay. Also, I had to cut it in kind of a weird place, but the next chapter is half done, so if I get time to write tonight, I will update again tomorrow.


Chapter Twelve


After the storm passed, it was another full week before they made port in Llomerryn. The early morning sun shone brightly and a pleasant breeze blew the smells of spices and cooking meat from the open markets to the cluster of docked ships along the quay.

Anders, Carver, Fenris and Aurah had gathered their few belongings, and were preparing to depart. Anders had decided to go with them to Kirkwall, mabari in tow, while Miri had chosen to accept Isabela's offer to join her crew.

The pirate captain twirled a small throwing knife between nimble fingers and looked them over a final time, all of them but Anders wearing dark, concealing cloaks. "Mind you keep to the main marketplace unless you want to attract attention or trouble, and the Racy Red is the tavern you'll want to find a ship to take you on to Kirkwall. I would be tempted to take you myself, but I already have another job lined up, and time is money."

Smiling, Aurah stepped forward and hugged Miri, then grasped Isabela warmly on the shoulder. "Thank you again for all you've done for us. If you're ever in Kirkwall and have need of wayward apostates, or a couple skilled blades, don't hesitate to look us up."

Isabela winked at the three men behind Aurah, before pulling her close and planting a kiss on the corner of her mouth, grinning at Fenris' frown. "I just may do that, Hawke. One never knows which way the wind will blow, and any port in a storm, as they say."

Carver stepped forward. "Where should we go to sell our armor? Aurah and I will have to do that first before we have enough coin for passage."

"No, that won't be necessary," Anders said with a shake of his head. He drew a heavy purse from the bag he wore over his robes and reached for Carver's hand, then dropped it into it. "That's your share of the spoils we absconded with, courtesy of Vindictus Aequitas."

The younger Hawke's eyes widened as he tested the heavy weight in his palm. "You're giving me all this? Why?"

Anders shrugged and glanced at the brunette elf. "Without the help of you and Miri, I would never have been able to pull everything off with such success and ease. I settled with Isabela and Miri already, and you are certainly due a share for your part."

"But without your help, I could never have freed my sister," Carver protested, offering the purse back to the mage.

Chuckling, Anders turned a brief, warm smile to Aurah. "It was my absolute pleasure to help free another mage, I assure you. What else are friends for? And I think after all the time we spent together, Carver, we can at least call ourselves that."

Aurah grinned in relief and laced her arm around Fenris'. "Well, I'm glad that I shan't be required to strip the clothes from my back in the middle of the marketplace to afford passage, after all," she joked.

Isabela sheathed her knife and smirked. "You might keep it in mind as a backup plan, anyway."

"Aurah will not be stripping in any marketplace," Fenris scoffed, narrowing his eyes at the pirate. "Not now or ever."

Carver shoved the purse down into his sister's shoulder bag, given as a parting gift by Isabela, and raised a brow at the elf. "At least we are in agreement there. We'd best be going if we're to get anything done before nightfall."

They walked down the gangplank onto the pier, with Anders and the mabari in the lead, quickly getting swallowed up in the sea of tents and tables, strewn with colorful wares of every kind. Aurah was entranced, Llomerryn's market easily dwarfing any other she had ever seen, including Denerim. She frequently stopped to exclaim over a delicately wrought bracelet, bottles of soap with sweet scents or silk scarves, fluttering in the breeze. Carver turned from a brief conversation he had with Anders and rolled his eyes at his sister's back, leaning down to speak a quiet word in her ear.

"Anders and I are going ahead to the tavern Isabela mentioned, to ask about any ships headed for Kirkwall and have something to eat and drink." He fished a few gold from the bag she carried and pocketed it discreetly.

Aurah nodded, fingering a tortoise shell comb wistfully, much like one her father had given her and had been lost during their flight from Lothering. "Alright, brother, Fenris and I will meet you both at the Racy Red." She glanced at the elf, who nodded briefly, his sharp eyes keeping watch on the crowds of people around them, rather than the things for sale.

The buxom woman behind the table stepped closer, dark of hair, skin and eyes, and smiling in welcome, her colorful green skirt topped in many scarves that were wrapped tightly around her to draw the eye to her full, womanly shape.

"Ah, a pretty comb for a pretty girl, no? And I have a special price, just for you, only forty coppers!"

Fenris clicked his tongue in annoyance and glanced back at the woman, his expression full of disdain. "That's pure robbery, gypsy, and you know it. It is barely worth fifteen."

She laughed, taking the elf in with a measuring glance, her eyes lingering on the marks on his neck and chin that shimmered a pale blue in the sunlight. "I see your man is a clever negotiator, and has the look of danger about him too. That makes him very good in bed, yes, and with such a voice?"

Aurah looked down with a blush, unaccountably flustered by the strange woman, and the new side to Fenris she had never seen before, out in the real world among normal people. The woman laughed again, even louder, and reached out and pinched Aurah's cheeks lightly, surprisingly drawing a small smile from Fenris where he stood and watched them.

"Look at how you blush like an untried virgin!" She turned her dark-eyed regard back to Fenris, smiling slyly. "I bet she still tastes of it too, no?"

The elf narrowed his eyes at the woman. "We will give you thirty for the comb and the red scarf; that's our final offer."

The woman pressed a hand against her ample bosom and widened her eyes appealingly. "But ser, how will I feed my children on so little, with my husband lost at sea? Have some mercy for a woman raising five children on her own."

Aurah's eyes softened in sympathy, and she opened her mouth to agree to whatever price the woman wished, when she felt Fenris squeeze her hand in his, and turned to catch his warning look and closed her mouth once more. He flicked a finger at the dark woman and nodded to the thick silver bangle around her wrist.

"You have no children, and my offer stands, but not for much longer."

The woman threw back her head and laughed, all while gathering the comb and scarf, and extending it to Aurah, who stared in surprise when the gypsy winked at her. "He is very shrewd. A good catch to guard your coin and fill your bed, young pretty. You could do much worse."

"But not better," Aurah quipped, counting out the coin into the woman's eager hand, who dropped it into a small, soft satchel that she kept hung around her neck, then tugged Aurah's hand back into her own, flattening it open and holding it up to the light.

"Let Keziah have a look at your palm, eh?" She traced one line with a face gone serious, then frowned at another, before lightly touching a third, her dark brows climbing high with a look of surprise. She looked back and forth between the woman and elf with a thoughtful expression, before catching Aurah's eyes with her dark gaze and leaning close.

"There is uncertainty on the road before you, lovely girl, but also a dark cloud of evil lurks, always watching. Enemies will disguise themselves as friends. Joy and prosperity, both will be yours, but sorrow in equal measure, and beware the nameless threat from the shadows. Never falter in your vigilance." She turned and pointed a finger at Fenris. "It is up to you to guard her well from that which will try to devour you both."

"I forge my own path, witch. Keep your predictions to yourself," he said in a low and menacing tone. He took Aurah by the arm and steered her through the crowded bazaar, stopping briefly to ask for directions to the tavern they sought. Hawke mulled over the merchant's words and warning, fighting against a shiver of foreboding, and finally remembered a point of curiosity from the exchange and glanced at Fenris, noting his fierce expression and immediately wishing to calm him.

"How did you know she had no children, something in her manner gave it away?"

He slowed their rapid pace slightly and nodded, his brows drawing together. "Her people travel all over Thedas, but even in Tevinter their customs remain the same. A single silver bangle declares marriage, but a mother of children is highly honored among them and always wears gold. One golden bangle for each child born alive."

"Oh, that's fascinating." She was struck again by just how knowledgeable Fenris was, despite being unable to read, which she intended to remedy when they reached Kirkwall and got settled. She smiled at him, overcome by a rush of affection and clasped one of his hands between both of her own. "There's so much I still have to learn from you, which reminds me… Just how old are you, anyway? I never thought to ask before."

He dodged around an old woman carrying a basket of fresh flowers and led them onto a quieter side street, branching off the main market. "I - - cannot say. You know I don't recall much from before my markings, and Danarius never mentioned it." He tilted his head, examining her face. "How old are you?"

"Well, this whole Tevinter detour has taken up nearly an entire year, so I suppose I'm twenty-five now." She furrowed her brows, realizing she had completely missed the anniversary of her birthing day while she was busy being a slave, not that it was really important. She felt Fenris' gaze and turned to find him contemplating her with a soft look in his eyes.

"I thought you even younger than that. Carver mentioned he is nineteen, and I assumed you were only a year or two older."

She squeezed his hand in reproach. "Maker's breath, are you saying I have a baby face?"

He glanced to the path ahead, then back to her, and she could almost feel his sharp green eyes lingering over each of her features, and began to blush, rolling her eyes when he smirked at her embarrassment.

"You have a beautiful face. Had we a home of our own and a calm and peaceful life, I could be content to gaze at it every night as a fulfilling end to each day."

"Fenris," she gasped in shock, her heart thumping wildly and the butterflies in her stomach taking flight. "I revise my previous opinion. Not only are you obviously knowledgeable about a great many things and well-spoken, you are also rather eloquent. I may be tempted to swoon."

His smirk deepened. "Should I be offended that you sound so surprised by this revelation?"

She laughed. "You can hardly fault me, when you used to spend much of your time growling at me and ordering me about." She slanted her eyes toward him and fluttered her lashes flirtatiously. "Not that your domineering, master persona doesn't have its appeal, because it certainly does. I can hardly think of our first night together without a quickened pulse."

He led them along a path beside a quick-rushing river, away from the crowds, his eyes turning sad. "I wish it had not happened the way it did. I hurt you, and I regret it."

She stepped in front of him and laced her hands behind his neck, forcing him to stop and meet her eyes again. "Don't say that. Everything that happened was for a reason, I have to believe that. Don't regret our past steps that have led us to where we are now. We have our whole lives before us, free to do as we choose."

He brushed the dark wisps of hair back from her face with a pensive purse of his lips. "I used to think that your tendency toward blind optimism and cheer, even in dark circumstances was another example of you being a fool."

Aurah chuckled, playing with his white hair that hung below his neck. "And now?"

He drew a slow breath and pulled her flush against him. "Now, I think it is not always a bad thing to have a different perspective from my own. Even if I don't agree, you are entertaining to listen to nonetheless."

Her smile turned to a look of mischief. "Don't think you're fooling me, I know this is really just your way of declaring you're madly in love with me. I'll add good taste and judgement to your long list of attributes."

Fenris shook his head, more amused than he showed while he stroked her cheek. "Be silent, woman, and give me your mouth."

"Gladly," she murmured, and tilted her face up to receive his kiss, pressing against his warm lips and sighing when he moved his caresses down her neck. "Fenris, hydria mel meum."

He pulled back and gave her an incredulous look. "I am...your honey pot?"

She giggled and kissed him again, unable to resist his half amused, half offended expression. "Come on, my Tevene has improved a little. If I only use endearments no one around us will understand, you will not be as embarrassed, correct?"

"I suppose," he said with a dubious frown. "It depends on what you actually end up calling me, as opposed to what you intend, as the two seldom seem to coincide."

She pulled the red scarf from her bag and wrapped it around his neck, searching her memory for all the Tevene she had gleaned just from listening to Danarius. "Bellator fortis meus es tu, Fenris."

His expression clouded and changed to a look of torment. He turned his head away to look at the river and her heart fell to her toes.

"I'm sorry, did I say it wrong?"

"No." A muscle in his jaw clenched. "It was correct: 'You are my strong warrior, Fenris.' I heard it often enough from Danarius."

Aurah's hand flew to cover her mouth, realizing her mistake and cursing herself for a fool for not realizing how something like that would trigger bad memories. "Forgive me. That was insensitive and stupid of me. I'll never say it again."

Fenris pulled the scarf away from his neck and held it out, and she took it silently. "We should catch up to your brother," he said in a gruff voice. "The tavern is near."

He walked back the way they had come without meeting her eyes and she felt a lump rise in her throat and tears sting her eyes at the rejection. How could she have been such a Maker-damned idiot? Danarius was no longer their master, but his specter still lurked in their memories, always waiting to come out and destroy their happiness and comfort with no prior warning. How would it even be possible to guard against a foe that lived only in their minds?

Kicking a rock across the path angrily, she wrapped the scarf around her wrist several times and tied it off, making a mental note to ask Fenris why he had picked it when he was no longer upset.


By the time the tavern was in sight, Fenris was well ahead of her, his longer strides outstripping her own and his anger at her speeding his steps. She huffed as he disappeared through the door of the Racy Red, still some distance away, glaring at the sandy path at her feet, when she was brought up short, her path blocked by a bald, thickly muscled man covered in dark tattoos.

She slipped her staff off her back as she looked to the side, and realized there were other men closing in quickly, trying to surround her. She turned back to face the burly man, assuming he was their leader.

"Look, it's very nice that you all want to play, but I'm really not in a very social mood just now. If you don't get out of my way, I'm afraid I'll be forced to hurt you."

The tattooed man grinned, showing off the gap where his two front teeth should have been and flicked his tongue through it. "Go on. Hurt us. It sounds like a good time."

Aurah laughed and shook her hair out of her eyes. "Alright, but remember you asked for it, and I was kind enough to accommodate you."

The man in front lunged toward her, moving far more quickly than she would have expected of his heavily muscled form, but she blasted them all back in a telekinetic burst of force that threw her attackers to the ground. Before they could recover, she spun and channeled force through her staff, lifting them in the air and slamming them against the hard ground, wincing when she heard the crunch of more than one bone snap at the impact.

Sensing movement behind her, she spun again and smashed the blunt end of her staff into the big man's gut, her eyes widening when he laughed and yanked the staff from her hands, taking another step forward. Aurah crouched, pulling a greater swell of force through her than she had before and lifting him into the air and spinning him, with ever increasing speed.

"Have you had enough," she shouted at the twirling figure, "or shall I knock you out like I did your fellows?"

"Enough!" he cackled, continuing to laugh even after she dumped him unceremoniously on the ground, where he shook his head sharply and stood, eyeing her appreciatively. He scooped her staff off the ground and presented it with a graceful bow.

She took it warily, still keeping her attention on him even as she became aware of Fenris standing a short distance away, where it seemed he was keeping Carver and Anders from interfering. She winked at the elf, as she often used to, to tease him during battle against her, then turned her attention fully to her adversary when Fenris made no acknowledgement.

The man crossed his arms and grinned, his muscles bulging with the movement. "What is your name, cara mia?"

She lifted her chin and relaxed her fighting stance. "It's Hawke."

He tilted his head. "You are Ferelden." At her nod, he stepped closer, holding out his hand when she tensed. "Let there be peace between us. Please, allow me." She frowned, but didn't fight him when he lifted her hand, then bent and kissed it before releasing her. "I only wanted to ask you to join me for a glass of Llomerryn Red."

Aurah gaped at him. "This is the way you ask someone to share a drink with you?" She waved a hand at the unconscious men on the ground and he laughed again.

"A little pain is good for the soul. Like the spice in the wine, it lets you know you are alive, cara. You can call me Tiny."

She laughed outright. "Either you are very poorly named, or it's meant in irony. There's obviously nothing tiny on you."

He smirked and pressed nearer. "It is irony, as you say. No part of me is small. Come with me and I will show you how much we can enjoy each other."

Fenris stepped near, his face set like stone. "Hawke, we are waiting for you. Come now."

Tiny looked at the elf, flicking his eyes across the greatsword sticking out from where it was sheathed across his back and the faintly glowing marks across his chin and neck. He returned his gaze to Hawke, a question in his eyes. "Bodyguard or lover?"

"My husband, in fact," she lied casually, and with a perfectly straight face. The man sighed regretfully and glanced at Fenris, deducing from his narrowed-eyed glare that he would not be open to sharing his wife with another man.

"Ah, well. We can still share a drink at the Racy Red. Do you have business on the island?"

Hawke nodded and sheathed her staff. "We came into port on the Siren's Call, and we're trying to book passage on to Kirkwall."

"You came in on Isabela's ship? That is good, I know her employer was getting impatient waiting for her return." He waved for her to walk with him. "Now you go to the Free Marches? Well, I think you are in luck. There are at least three ships in port here that make runs to Kirkwall. I recommend Captain Valdez. He has a fast ship and his fares will be reasonable." He smirked again and held the tavern door open for her to pass through before he followed. "Or they will be if I put in a word for my new friend."

Fenris shared a disgruntled look with Anders and Carver before he hurried ahead, determined not to let Aurah out of his sight again.


~o~