Yet again, sorry for the massive delay, I finally managed to grab myself a job with long shifts so I'm trying as best as I can to get this stuff out to you guys! :)

Fenris awoke to the sound of loud, short knocks on the door. He mumbled in Arcanum as he bolted upright, not used to being woken up this way. He groaned as he stretched upright, cracking his back. Sleeping on the stone floor with nothing but a few furs between his back and the cold ground was not the best idea he had. But when his eyes fell upon Hawke sleeping soundly beside him, her back exposing her tattooed wings made everything worth it.

He began slowly tracing the delicate silver lines amongst the tattooed feathers, smiling softly to himself as he remembered when Hawke first had the tattoo done by Zevran and Isabela.

"Guys, you have got to see this!" Hawke shouted over to them, running into the mess hall with only her house robes on, but Fenris could clearly see that she was wearing nothing underneath.

He had never seen her this happy.

Hawke's cheeks were tinged pink from running and her eyes were shining with a new light, as if she had been finally free of something. Her eyes quickly met Fenris' and she winked before turning her attention back to her friends.

"Don't keep us in suspense Hawke, what is it?" Sebastian chuckled at her enthusiasm.

"Look at what Zev and Bella did for me," Hawke grinned before turning her back to the group and dropped her house robe to her waist whilst covering up her breasts at the same time. Everyone gasped, Fenris' jaw dropped into the Deep Roads somewhere.

On her back, was a huge tattoo of a pair of hawk wings that were outspread slightly, covering her whole back. The feathers themselves were dark grey and the detail of them were exquisite and from a distance would have probably been mistaken for real wings. Fenris' heart skipped a beat when he realised that the wings had intricate, silver-white patterns and swirls in many of the feathers, whilst others were blue. But they were just about visible.

Fenris rose to his feet slowly before walking up behind Hawke and trailed his index finger in a line where her old scars were.

"What happened to the-"

"Zev massaged healing oil into my back to get rid of them completely. He managed to pinch a few bottles that his old friend Wynne had. She seemed to be a very good alchemist," she smiled warmly, staring deeply into Fenris' eyes.

Fenris' trail of thought disappeared when the knocking continued. Fenris growled, mumbling to himself as he managed to pull on some breeches before answering the door. An elven serving girl squeaked in surprise when she saw the intense look of annoyance in Fenris' eyes.

"Can I help you?" Fenris narrowed his eyes, causing the serving girl to back up slightly.

"Q-Queen Katherine and the Wardens are preparing to leave. Ser C-Carver requested that Mistress Hawke would come and see them leave," the young girl stammered, clearly nervous about Fenris' ferocious demeanor.

"Thank you, we'll be there as soon as we can," Fenris tried his hardest to smile to relax the young elf, showing that he was a friend instead of a threat, but the girl quickly bowed and sped down the hallway, clearly wanting to get away from him. Fenris sighed and shut the door behind him.

"Who was that?" Hawke groaned sleepily, her face still buried in the pillow.

"Just a servant; your brother will be leaving soon," Fenris began picking up his armour that was scattered around the room from the night before, getting himself ready for the day ahead, his eyes darting every now and then to Hawke who was still sprawled on the floor, "Aren't you going to get up?"

Hawke grumbled once more before scrambling to her feet, the blanket still wrapped around her as the chilly spring air caused her skin to become covered in goosebumps. Fenris couldn't help himself but watch as Hawke perched on the stool in front of the vanity cabinet, combing her fingers through her hair. He noticed a small smirk on her lips as she caught him staring.

"Are you going to get ready or just stand there, gawking at me?" Hawke chuckled, reaching for the comb to properly get the knots out of her hair.

Fenris just rolled his eyes and continued strapping on his armour, still not comfortable roaming the palace in just normal clothes.

"I'll go and wake Winter; she should be awake by now."

"Are you sure that's wise? She is still rather annoyed with the whole 'whatever-magic-touches-spoils-the-thing' thing."

Hawke heard the door slam as Fenris left the room. He and Winter still had not properly spoken since their row, and Hawke hadn't had the chance to speak to Winter since they arrived in Ferelden. She quickly pulled on whatever clothes she could reach and left to go and say goodbye to her brother and Merrill.

Crowds had already gathered to see their queen leave for Weisshaupt with the other wardens, but Hawke and Fenris managed to sneak past the crowds to say their own goodbyes to Merrill and Carver.

Merrill had her arms tightly wrapped around Hawke.

"I'm going to miss you soooooooo much, lethallan! You will write to us, right? Please don't forget. I've heard from Oghren that Weisshaupt is awfully dusty and dirty, and hot! I hope I don't get burnt…"

Hawke chuckled sadly as she held her friend tightly, "You'll be fine Merrill, and good luck with the Joining. I know you'll make it through."

Merrill gave Hawke one last squeeze before turning to Fenris, hesitating as to whether she could go for the full hug she gave Hawke. She also knew that Fenris had never trusted her because of the fact she was a mage and also used blood magic. But to her surprise, Fenris extended his arm, wanting nothing but a handshake.

Instead, the mage squealed with delight and instantly hugged him, making Fenris freeze on the spot at the sudden hug-attack.

"It seems my sister has changed you afterall, Fenris," Carver laughed, receiving a death glare in response as Fenris tried to pry Merrill's vice-like grip on him.

Carver then turned to Hawke, who was already trying her best to hold back the tears that were evidently forming. Both of the Hawke siblings knew this would probably be the last time they would see each other for a very long time, and they only had letters to keep each other informed, but even that would not be enough, especially since the Seekers were still pursuing Hawke.

"I will miss you, Trinny," Carver said with a sad smile.

"I told you not to call me that!" Hawke chuckled, playfully shoving her brother before instantly wrapping her arms around him, her face pressed against the Grey Warden crest on his chestplate.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?"

"Me? Get into trouble? Never!" Hawke smirked as she looked up at her older brother, still remembering the times she had to take the nails out of Bethany's braids when Carver would hammer them into the bed posts.

Carver gently held Hawke's hand and pressed what appeared to be a letter, tied shut with a piece of twine.

"Don't open this until you leave Ferelden, promise?"

"Why am I not allowed to open it now?"

"Just do it."

Merrill was still talking to Winter when Carver placed a hand on her lower back, telling her it was time to go. All Hawke could do was watch as her brother and his newly wedded wife marched off with the rest of the Grey Wardens.

Hawke tucked the letter into her pocket, her eyes finally releasing the tears as the frigate set sail, the crowds still cheering and waving goodbye to their warden queen. Bruiser whined softly as he nudged his master's hand with his nose, looking up at her as he sat on his haunches.

"We'll see him again, boy. Don't you worry," Hawke smiled sadly, scratching the back of the mabari's ear.