Fenris sat vigil next to Hawke's bed. His entire body burned and his eyes were dry to the point of pain, but all he could feel was relief. The toxin had been more fragile than Merril predicted and it had dissolved as soon as Hawke's blood was in his system. The transfusion had been successful and Hawke was now sleeping peacefully. He looked down at his hands. It was strange to think that Hawke's blood ran in his veins, the blood of a human, the blood of the one good thing that had ever happened to him in his life. If he was whimsical, he could almost believe that he felt stronger knowing that the very life of such a powerful person was pumping through his heart.
Hawke shifted beneath her covers and Fenris snapped his head up, watching her closely. She was feverish, her body trying to recover from the stress and deal with the large amount of lyrium now in her system. He placed a cool cloth on her forehead and cupped her face, running his thumb across her cheek. It was strange, being with Hawke had shaken his beliefs and certainties down to their foundations, for the Maker's sake, he just willingly let a mage use blood magic on him and he wasn't bothered by it in the slightest.
He felt tied to her, like his life was no longer his own, almost the way he'd felt when he'd belonged to Denarius, but much different. He wasn't sure what to make of it, only that it filled him with a joy he had never known just to be near her. A slavery of a different kind, sweeter, softer, and beautiful. These shackles lacked all of the oppression and despair and were clamped around his heart, not his wrists.
"How is Mistress?" The quiet, unassuming voice of Orana slipped into the room.
Fenris sighed tiredly, "She'll be just fine Orana, she just needs to rest."
"Oh good," Orana clasped her hands together, "I don't know what I would have done without her. She's been so kind to me. I've never had money before and she didn't think I was silly when I didn't know what to do with it. She's helped me so much."
Orana came and stood at the foot of the bed, watching Hawke sleep, "She's treated me like an equal, you know? Mistress even started teaching me to read and write and do figures. She said she wanted to send me to school, but I was afraid to go so she bought all of the supplies so she could teach me here."
Fenris chuckled, "You too, huh? She's the worst teacher."
"That's not true," Orana shook her head quickly, "she's so patient with me. And she's incredibly kind."
"I guess it's just me then." Fenris grumbled, suddenly cross, "When I get things wrong, she flicks my ear."
Orana laughed and then clapped her hand over her mouth, "Oh that was bad of me, I apologize."
"You're fine Orana," Fenris felt a small smile pull the edges of his lips.
"I don't know how she does it all. She works so hard all of the time and she's always in danger, but she still finds the time to help people like me. Mistress is the most amazing person I have ever met. She's so kind and she always wears a smile, even when her life is falling apart." Orana frowned, "I remember when her mama died, she was so sad. I could hear her crying at night, but in the morning she would laugh and smile and tell jokes just to keep everyone else happy."
"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you, it just feels so strange in the house without hearing her voice," Orana wrung her hands together, "I just don't want to be alone."
He nodded to her and Orana's face brightened. She walked over to the fireplace and sat, picking up her lute. Quiet music filled the room as Orana's fingers danced lithely over the strings. Fenris paused, drinking in the beauty of the music, surprised that he could appreciate it. Before Hawke, his world was grey and lifeless, full of hate, and misery, and an aching emptiness that gnawed at his soul. What a powerful effect she had on people's lives. He never wanted to leave her again.
Under the hypnotic sound of Orana's lute, Fenris' eyes began to droop as exhaustion took its toll. Before he knew it, he was asleep, and Marian's very presence kept his nightmares away.