If Garrett Hawke had known speaking to Cassandra Pentaghast was going to be such a headache, he would have traveled back in time to tell himself to get out of Haven as soon as Varric had told him why he was summoned there. Oh, who was he kidding. He would have stuck around regardless, because no matter how much he wanted to live his own life, the Champion of Kirkwall was more than just simple Garrett. But one could dream for normalcy.

At least he had met decent people along the way. Evelyn wasn't hard on the eyes either. Hawke had enjoyed talking with her, it was definitely a welcome distraction from Varric's passed out form. He usually didn't go out of his way to actually get to know many women; judging from Evelyn's exterior she was just as guarded as he was. But something about her intrigued him, and that was rare.

Most women he came across were little more than momentary distractions to fill the void he had in his life. With his family gone (he hadn't heard from his famous second cousin in a long time), and Isabella too busy for him, he could be lonely at times, and to fill that emptiness one could usually find Garrett Hawke bedding a tavern maiden behind an inn on his travels. He wasn't exactly proud of his feminine exploits, but a man had needs on the road!

So when Hawke found himself unable to tear his focus away from Evelyn at The Singing Maiden, (he could have just as easily spent his time eyeing the girls in the corner) he kept thinking about her throughout the rest of the night. She wasn't going to be another sexual conquest for him, but she was a challenge. And Garrett Hawke loved challenges.

He settled in that night thinking of how he could get to know her better, falling asleep to how easy he was going to make his life from here on out. Simplifying it, starting with Evelyn Trevelyan.

Until the next day, when everything in their lives would change forever.

X

Max woke the next day when the sun's rays crept in through the cracks of the window shutters, earning a groan from him. Evelyn was still sound asleep on the cot across from him, and knowing better than to wake her or lest risk his sister's wrath, he quietly rose and got ready.

"Good morning!" He beamed at the townspeople making his way through the village. He stopped by the local blacksmith first to work on his sword for a bit before going to the tavern to find food. Evelyn would kill him if he didn't bring back something for her, he painstakingly learned that lesson, several times in his life.

But he didn't mind, he loved his sister a lot. Family was very important to him, and Evelyn was the only person that ever truly accepted him for him without any strings attached, so the loyalty was strong there.

When he got back to the cabin, he expected to find Evelyn still sleeping, but she was just finishing up getting dressed. "Good morning, sister."

"And good morning to you, brother. Oooo you brought me biscuits!" She practically jumped in glee for the warm food that they had sorely been missing out on since leaving Ostwick.

Once they finished eating, they wandered back out into the village and observed the soldiers in training. A blonde man with a fur pauldron covering his shoulders was instructing them.

"That's Cullen Rutherford! He became Knight-Commander of Kirkwall after Meredith." Max said in awe when he recognized the man.

"Is that your new crush?" Evelyn elbowed her brother. "Or is it the Seeker Cassandra?"

"I wouldn't talk if I were you, miss. I saw the looks you gave Hawke!" He raised an eyebrow.

"What?" Evelyn scoffed at the idea. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"A twin knows these things." Max commented as they continued to watch from a distance the training drills.

"A twin knows jack shit." Evelyn gave him a pointed look, but he knew better. They were usually pretty open with one another, but love interests were always a private subject for her for some reason. Maxwell would probably never wrap his head around it, he didn't understand women very well.

"Oh, well. Come on, help me train! My sword arm is getting rusty!" He handed her two spare swords from the rack and they walked closer to the training group. When training, it was always two swords for Evelyn, and a sword and shield for Maxwell.

"If I didn't love archery so much, I might be better at swordplay than you, little brother." She rolled her shoulders in preparation before holding the sword out, ready to start.

"You wish!" He struck forward suddenly, not caring how it caught her off guard because she would block it.

They traded strikes for the next few minutes, and every time Max would get close to submitting Evelyn, she would always find some way to slide out of it. Whether that be using gymnastics, or some other tactic to maneuver out of it, she always stayed ahead of him.

"Are you getting tired of chasing me?" She asked with her hands on her hips, a smug look of satisfaction on her face.

"Are you tired of running away? Come, let's fight!" He motioned her forward, wanting to win badly. Especially when their sparring had caught the attention of Cullen!

"Looks like we have an audience. Let's give them a show?" Evelyn looked over her shoulder, acknowledging that both Cullen and now Hawke were watching. The mage leaned against the village wall casually watching with interest.

"Upping the stakes, I like that. Now Trevelyan pride is on the line." He rushed forward with his sword, throwing his shield to the side to focus on bringing her to heel.

Evelyn didn't jump away this time, with as much might as she could muster, she parried with her swords, holding Maxwell's sword at bay just inches from her face. He took just a moment to see Cullen's reaction, now a cluster of soldiers watching their fight.

And that was all Evelyn needed to get the jump on him. She shoved her knee hard into his side, sending him reeling over and gasping for breath. She quickly jumped up and held her sword to his chin. "Do you yield, Ser Trevelyan?" The look in her eye was wicked, she could barely contain herself.

"Ugh, yes." Maxwell sighed, knowing it was his fault.

In the distance, Hawke was clapping his hands for Evelyn as she took a bow. And next to him was Cassandra Pentaghast. So maybe this wasn't the best start to the day!

X

Evelyn knew they were hopelessly lost in this temple. As stubborn as she was, she wouldn't listen to Max when he had tried pointing them one way, and now they were stuck in the lower levels of the temple. Most likely nowhere near where the peace talks were being held.

"Okay, I got us lost. I admit that!" She conceded, earning a satisfied look from her brother that he wasn't the only fallible one of the pair.

The doors to the upper levels were found locked to their chagrin, making Evelyn wish they hadn't sneaked in the back way. But then Max came through for them, by happening on a secret door when he leaned on a bookshelf.

"Oh, a secret passageway in a creepy dungeon. How original." Evelyn didn't try to hide her sarcasm, she hated dungeons. Considering they had reached a dead end, the twins were intent on fulfilling their purpose there, so they proceeded through the passageway.

It didn't take long for panic to set in, but when it did, Evelyn had no idea what was in store for her and her sibling. The last thing either of them could remember happening was a cry for help, then nothingness.