So I'm back! I've had a few chapters written up and ready to go for a while, but I was too lazy to upload. Another chapter should be up soon!
I own nothing BioWare owns all.
Enjoy!
Kirkwall
Alice took a deep breath of the fresh, sea air. It was good to feel the wind on her face. She had never ridden on a ship before. She loved the feeling of freedom that came with her mode of travel. The prow of the ship was cutting cleanly through the waves, the clear sunlight bathing everything in a happy light, the sea and sky merging into the perfect shade of blue off on the horizon. Her mabari, Cookie, placed his front paws on the rail beside her, his tongue lolling from the side of his mouth as he looked up at her.
"Isn't this nice boy? Nothing here to stop us. Nothing here at all." Cookie barked happily in response, but still stared up at her. "What? I'm fine." If it was at all possible, the dog looked skeptical. "Really, I'm fine!" With a snort the mabari stepped off of the railing and padded away across the deck. "As if I couldn't be fine in these conditions," Alice muttered under her breath as she watched her dog walk away. He had been Alistair's only condition for the trip. Cookie had to travel with her at all times. As if Alistair would know whether or not Cookie came with her… But the more she thought about it, the more she thought that Cookie would find some way of ratting her out. She seriously wondered sometimes who exactly was his master. Any time Alistair was around, it was a given that Cookie followed his every order. Alice sighed and leaned forward on the rail, bending out over the water as far as she could. She supposed it wasn't that bad of a deal though. It was kind of Alistair to let her have her little trip. She knew that he needed her to make his job seem less crazy and meaningless. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried to change her mind though. He had detained her for a full month since his return. He blamed it on his schedule, saying that there was absolutely no room for a visit to Wade for another six months. She had had to put on her "Commander of the Grey Face" to get him to let her go. But even that had only gotten her so far.
He had held her for a good ten to fifteen minutes before letting her board the ship. He pressed his face into her hair and kissed the top of her head just be for he let her go.
"I'll miss you," he murmured in her ear. "Please be careful." He kissed her and then let her go, watching her every movement as the ship left the port. There had been such sadness in his eyes, even a trace amount of pain. That had been nearly a week ago. She wondered for a moment what he would be doing now. She glanced up at the sky, but couldn't tell if it would be around the same time in Denerim as it was here. Either way, it was most likely that Alistair would be alone somehow; whether it was that he was physically sitting alone in the palace or emotionally detached from those around him. She could only hope that he had kept himself busy enough to keep from dwelling on her absence. Alice shook her head. She needed to stop her train of thought quickly or she would become depressed. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the rocking of the ship, the wind pulling at her hair. She lost herself in the moment to avoid losing herself in the past.
Alice stepped off of the boat, her left hand absently scratching behind Cookie's ears. She looked around the bustle of the docks, tracking many people as they went about their business. It was an old habit of hers; her eyes followed anyone who was a potential threat. She was bumped from behind and her right hand strayed to her dagger. She looked over her shoulder, but she couldn't tell who had bumped her. Relax, she told herself, taking a deep breath. She straightened up and strode forward confidently. She weaved her way through the impatient people, reaching Lowtown in a matter of minutes. She made her way easily through the skinny streets of Lowtown, trying to keep a low profile. But when she made it to the market area, she found that she would stick out like a sore thumb. She had been fine in the back alleys of Lowtown where there were few people, but the market had a large population, and a great many people were wearing some type of armor. The type of armor they were wearing was not even a close comparison to what she had purchased for the trip.
Alice had restrained herself when she had commissioned her new armor. She resisted the urge to have Wade find some way of fusing dragon scales and silverite together so that she could have the strength of the dragon plate armor along with the shine of the silverite. Instead she had restricted herself to some rather light dragon scale armor. She had already felt uncomfortable in it when she tried it on; she was not used to having to rely on something so light to protect her from enemy weapons. But now with her armor outstripping all of the others around her in value, she felt even more uncomfortable about it. Somehow this revelation made her feel more vulnerable than ever in the breeches and shirt that she had chosen to wear that day. She hadn't been out of the palace, alone in no armor since…. well since before the Blight. Her cloak billowed out around her and she pulled it tighter to herself. The feeling of air rushing around her, through her, almost, made her want to go and put on her expensive armor. But it was imperative that she stay incognito. If she was going to get the information she wanted, it would not be by announcing herself as the Queen of Fereleden.
She ducked her head and pressed on, following the trickle of people to Hightown. She felt slightly better about her choice in clothing as she walked through the courtyard that held the Hightown market, but almost everything she had brought with her was towards the pricier end of the things that the people were wearing here. It surprised her, Ferelden was not a particularly wealthy nation and it was known for its more functional approach to things than its "style". But it appeared as though Kirkwall had fallen on some hard times and people were not able to afford such nice things anymore. Though, she could see the Orlesians were better than ever with their bright colors and ridiculous accessories.
Alice slowed her pace after moving through the Hightown market. She was unsure of where to go from here. Alistair had said that Hawke had regained her estate in Hightown, but she had no idea where that would be. She was sure she could ask around to find it, but that would bring attention to her that was unnecessary. So Alice resolved to wander until she found some indicator of Hawke's residence. It couldn't be that hard, the wealthy district seemed rather small. She patted Cookie's head and set off in the direction her gut said would lead her to Hawke's estate.
It turned out Hightown was slightly bigger than it appeared. The sun was starting to fall behind the tall buildings surrounding her when she spotted a crest that looked vaguely like a hawk. She looked around her before approaching the building, but no one paid her any attention. Alice reached the doorway and saw a plaque that was partly obscured by vines. She pushed them gently away from the metal, reading the family name engraved on it. Amell. Amell? Hmm. She took a step back from the house, blowing out her breath in frustration. Just when she thought she was close—a memory interrupted her thoughts. Alistair saying something about Hawke and the Amells. A relation. Her mother! Hawke's mother was an Amell, notable because an Amell the Ferelden Circle.
An Amell had been among the defending mages during the Crisis of the Circle. Sadly, that Amell also died during the Crisis, but that didn't have much of a bearing on the current situation. Alice grinned. She inspected the estate before her and allowed herself to be impressed. She strode up to the door and knocked. There was no answer. She knocked again. Still no answer. She knocked one final time and waited. Alice wasn't the most patient person in the world, but the amount of time she waited for the door before her to open was more than enough. Time for plan B. Alice only hoped this really was Hawke's home.
"Here boy." She cooed and Cookie came closer, his eyes bright. "Good boy." She smiled and untied her bag from the back of his collar. She rummaged through it until her hand closed on the smooth leather pouch she had been looking for. She sent up a silent prayer to the Maker that this would work and she wouldn't get caught and she wouldn't make a fool of herself and she would be able to do this and… Alice drew a deep breath and centered herself. She could do this. She flipped open the top of the pouch and took in the small tools strapped inside. What had Zevran said? The hook and the… what? Oh, the flat one. She retrieved said tools and tucked the pouch into her waistband. Then she turned her attention to the door before her. One final prayer and deep breath. She carefully inserted the lock picks into the door in front of her. She wiggled them around for a little while and then tried the door handle. It was still locked. She stood up for a second to stretch her back, then set to work with a little more concentration than before. She bit her lip then closed her eyes, hoping that somehow this would help her to pick the lock.
"Whoa there beautiful, whatcha up to?" Alice's eyes snapped open and she froze, very aware of the blade beneath her chin. A dwarf was standing off to the side of her, looking at her curiously. Then he turned.
"Hey Hawke, look what I found." That was not the way Alice had intended on meeting the Champion of Kirkwall.