The front door snapped shut behind Samael's back as he leaned on it, not really knowing why he went straight home from the Kirkwall brothel. Charon happily trotted into the open larder, sniffing for something to eat, and Bodahn emerged from the kitchen to greet his master. The dwarf halted though, scratching his head, when he spotted just the rogue with his mabari.
"Miss Merrill… hasn't come with you, Messere?" the dwarf asked, concerned, and looking around like he half-expected the elf would peer at him from a corner, giggling. Samael frowned at this question, but he forced himself to stay calm.
"What do you mean? She's not… here?" Samael stalked to the dwarf.
"She left a few minutes after you, saying over and over she needed to find you and talk to you, Messere. I told her not to leave the estate so upset, but she wouldn't listen to me," Bodahn sighed, glancing at the cracked open larder door and strange noises behind it.
"What about our Hero?" Samael rubbed his tired eyelids, feeling that odd sensation in his belly, like something bad could happen any minute.
"Messere Mahariel was smoking outside for a half an hour, then he came back for a cloak, claiming he wouldn't eat dinner and he went out for a walk." As always, Bodahn was perfectly informed about everything happening at the estate. "A disgusting habit, if you ask me, Messere Hawke," Bodahn crinkled his nose, regarding Fawn's addiction to smoking cigars.
"Fawn's out as well?" Samael inhaled sharply, feeling very much awake again.
"Yes, Messere," Bodahn nodded in agreement, watching the worried assassin. Samael just stood there, tormented if he should turn in alone or go out looking for her. Well, more like looking for them since he was convinced Fawn was without a doubt with Merril. But then Samael reminisced about her words and he realized his pride wouldn't let him go searching for her anyway. He was the hurt one here, damn it!
"Good night," Samael set his jaw and started to climb the stairs, leaning on the balustrade like an old man and whistling at his mabari. Charon scooted out of the larder, almost knocking the dwarf down and judging by his widened eyes and tongue lolling out of the maw as though he just couldn't believe that his master would allow him to sleep in the bedroom tonight. Once the door was open, the mabari sniffed the whole room only to jump on the bed, whirling around there to make a cozy lair.
Samael just glanced at the enthusiastic dog, shaking his head with a brief chuckle.
"I know I told you we're equal after our trip to the Gallows, mabari, but I certainly didn't allow you to sleep in my bed," he tried to shoo the dog off the bed, unsuccessfully. "All right, you mongrel," he gave up when he tried to push the heavy dog away, but the mabari just grinned at him, obviously amused by the efforts to remove him from the bed. Samael stripped down to his tight breeches, collapsing in the bed, feeling a bit drunk, a bit sad and a bit mad. He watched his ring; the ring stone was emanating urgent green flashes at him
"Where are you, huh…" he muttered to himself, tracing the ring with a finger, but then Samael just undonned the ring, setting it on the night table by his bed and turned his back at it. The last thought he had was about cursing the fidgety mabari for crushing his legs when Charon sprawled out on the bed, content as ever.
oOo
A sound of low growling from somewhere by the bedroom door woke up Hawke in the middle of night. He squinted around, seeing just the contours of furniture and live coals in the fireplace; he did realize he was alone in the bed though.
Charon poked the door with a paw, glancing at his now awakened master with a cocked head. Samael climbed out of the bed, sneaking around the room like a ghost for a moment. When he stood by his mabari, he had a long sinuous dagger in his hand and a leather strip with throwing knives across his bare chest. What could he say? He would rather be ready than sorry. When he pressed the ear on the door, he heard nothing at first, but then a distant gasping and moaning reached him, so he cracked the door open, peering outside. Something thudded, some swearing in elvish. Samael crept to the staircase, crouching and looking between the balustrade pillars down into the main hall. What he saw there made him rise to his full height again, staring down with his mouth hanging.
Haydée was leaning on the wall, a blood was gushing in thick pulses of her still beating heart out of her severed carotid artery. She was pressing one her hand on her throat, her eyes widened in horror, her lips gasping for air. In the light of several candles the blood looked almost black. Half-naked Merrill stood right beside her, gripping Haydée's other hand. The elf had her right hand coated in blood and her index finger was stuck in her mouth, like she tasted something really delicious, licking her fingers one by one. Samael couldn't miss the fact that Merrill had her eyes almost closed in pure bliss.
A dagger clanged at the stone staircase, interrupting Merrill's trance as she whirled around at that absurd sound. The lovers stared at each other for twenty seconds, breathless and waiting for the reaction of the other one. Samael was the first one who moved; he rushed down the stairs, jumped over a balustrade in the middle of staircase to get to Haydée in the fastest possible way.
"Samael! It's… not what it looks like!" Merrill tried to block his way, but he shoved her away, so she hit the stone wall, cried out in pain and collapsed down.
Haydée started sliding down along the wall now when Merrill wasn't supporting her, but Samael managed to catch her limp body before she could tumble down entirely. He pressed his palm at the wound, watching terrified as her blood was springing through his fingers immediately.
"Don't… don't you die on me! Do you hear me? Haydée!" he shouted at her, clenching her blood-stained clothing. "Heal her!" Samael looked up wildly at Merrill who was still cowering where he had thrown her. "I said heal her, damn it!" his eyes were flitting between the elf and Haydée.
"No," Merrill rasped, shaking her head in vehemence, watching as Samael's expression turned from fear and astonishment to pure hatred and frenzy.
"What the hell do you mean by that 'no'?" Samael howled like a wounded predator. Haydée's attempt to say something snatched his attention though.
"He… He's…" she rattled, her hand clasping his bare forearm. "Xe… Xenon… ask… Xenon…" she managed to whisper, but Samael was able to see her eyes started to veil and the blood stream was weakening. Haydée Morrell bled out within three heartbeats after she spoke her last words.
oOo
"I'm viciously fucked! No! I'm royally fucked! Maker, I'm screwed! Raen will have my head on a silver tray by the morning! FUCK!" Samael shoved Haydée's body away and crawled backwards from it desperately, leaving the blood smudge between them since he was soaked in her blood. His gaze was still locked with Haydée's wide open eyes, but the deep green light in them had died along with her.
It was Charon's soft whining which had woken him up and he jumped on his feet again. He marched to Merrill who was watching him with the expression counting with an inevitable end of her life. Samael yanked her up on her feeble feet only to cast her down with all his might right next to the dead Morrell.
"Look at her," he hissed, standing above her like a pagan god of revenge. "I said look at her!" he roared a second later when Merrill averted her eyes, trying hard not to admit to herself she was kneeling in a blood pool. When she let out a sob, clenching her eyelids together, Samael grasped her slender nape, pulling her down right next to the dead woman's face. He held her there until a silver tear fell down on Haydée's cheek.
"Look at me!" he swiveled her head roughly, squeezing her throat. "Why… did… you… kill her?" Samael asked slowly, panting, but making sure his every word cut right through her. No doubt he was standing at the edge of his self-control.
"I… I didn't kill her. I swear!" Merrill blurted out finally, sobbing, her eyes pleading with him.
"LIAR!" Samael shoved her away again, raking through his hair veil with bloody fingers.
"I'm not lying, Samael, please! I found her this way!" Merrill crawled back to him only to be kicked aside again. "I came home hours ago; Charon wouldn't let me sleep in the bedroom so I turned in a guest room. I woke up and—"
"And you happen to stumble over a dying woman and then you told yourself 'oh look, some free blood for a hungry blood mage!' Yeah, Merrill, whatever!" he threw his arms sideways, ripping the leather strip with knives off his chest and tossing it away. There was now a band of clean skin across his chest.
"NO! I really found her this way, you have to believe me!" Merrill was staring at him with her eyes wide open. "I couldn't resist the blood, you're right, but… but…" she collapsed again, the bitter tears streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"What's going on here?" Fawn tottered out of his room with his eyes barely unstuck, yawning. Well, he was perfectly awake when his gaze slipped at the corpse lying in a vast blood pool, and at both Samael and Merrill who were covered with the drying blood as well.
"Let me guess, then…" Fawn sneered when the room stayed silent. "Hawke proposed a threesome and Merrill didn't like it." The elf guffawed, tilting his head up, not realizing all three living creatures in the main hall were staring at him at this misplaced joke.
"If you're done mocking, perhaps you could help me, Mahariel." Samael stalked slowly to the elf. Fawn was able to see that the assassin fought with himself to sound calm and steady, but he could see that behind this cracked mask Samael was wildly contemplating the whole situation, considering his possibilities what to do.
Samael was genuinely surprised when Fawn gave him a deep bow, whispering to his ear, "I'm at your disposal," when he straightened up again.
"Um, thank you," he murmured, amazed by this sudden change in the elf's behavior. He scratched his head then, realizing he needed to come up with some plan and he needed to come up with it quickly. "Find… Fenris." Samael pierced the elf through, watching him how he would feel about this order. Fawn simply nodded and danced out of the estate. Only now Samael realized Bodahn was peering at them from the kitchen, leaning on the column with his arms folded on chest and his mouth slightly open. Hawke just shook his head at him, like he couldn't make heads or tails of this mess as well.
Merrill's choked sobs were coming from a distant corner, but Samael didn't feel sorry for her. In his opinion, she just killed Haydée, drank her blood, and now she was about to convince him she was innocent here no doubt; innocent with the blood smudges around her mouth. He slowly walked to her, halted there, hesitant, clenching his fists until the knuckles cracked.
Only now he realized she was just in her sleeping panties, blood smeared all over her and huddled into herself. He wrapped her in an armchair shawl since she was shaking completely out of control and her nudity was distracting him.
"If you want to talk to me, this would be a perfect time," he growled after a moment, squatting down in front of her. Merrill uncovered her face at once, the words firing off her in dismay.
"I… I went after you Samael. That fight we had… I shouldn't have said that. I mean, I had no right to… But then I saw you with her—" Merrill tried to touch him, but Samael flinched.
"You what?" he interrupted her. "So you've been to the Blooming Rose?" he watched her face in suspicion.
"I saw you two together there," Merrill glared at her still-lover, her words bitter and hurt.
"Why didn't you come to me then?" he arched an eyebrow at her. "It wasn't like I had anything important to discuss with her." When Merrill stayed mute with her lips puckered, Samael realized she must have misunderstood the whole scene.
"Great," he sighed. "So you admit you went there, you misinterpreted what you saw there and you decided to murder the woman since Samael the bastard was sleeping with her no doubt," he finished his bitter speech.
"And did you…?" Merrill asked the only thing that was important for her.
"REALLY?" Samael grimaced at her. "I accused you of murdering an innocent woman and the most important thing you have in mind is if I shagged her? What the hell is wrong with you?" he shook her like only this way he could have back his old, awkward and lovely Merrill.
"NO! I didn't kill her, Samael! I wanted to…" Merrill's voice trailed off. "But I couldn't. Fawn found me, we strolled around the city for two hours, then we came back home." Merrill's eyes were beseeching him to trust her. But how could he? After what he had seen - Merrill drinking the blood from a living creature, saying those words to him before. But Haydée was dead. It was done. Now he was the one who had to deal with it before Raen would find out his sister was gone and most importantly where she had perished. But when he searched Merrill's eyes he found there nothing but fear, plea to trust her and disquiet. No lie or deception.
Sudden voices in the front room broke into the silence; Samael gave Merrill one last serious glance and stood up. What was his surprise when Fawn brought with him Aveline with Donnic at her heels and judging by some rough voices behind the front door, there were other Guardsmen outside. Before he could do anything, Aveline glanced around the room to figure out what had happened in there. The first coherent thought Samael had in his mind was that Fawn had betrayed him and called the Guards to arrest him for murder. When the amber eyes met with the shark eyes, Samael realized that Fawn knew exactly what was going on in his head, but the elf just sneered and strolled over to Merrill to calm her down a little.
"So, Hawke, what is it this time, huh…?" Aveline folded her arms on chest, her armor screeching. Donnic hid himself unintentionally behind his Captain's back, his moon-eyed face pale as he stared at the corpse and 6 quarts of fresh blood.
"Just… a tiny accident, Aveline, nothing more," Samael sighed, dodging her inquisitive glare.
"An accident… right." Aveline hissed at him, gesturing towards the black slash on the Haydée's throat.
"That's… lots of blood…" Donnic dared to peep his opinion.
"Look, Aveline. I asked Fawn to find Fenris, not you. I know very well you are the fabulous Captain of the Guard in the first place, then there's this huge place filled with scolding people around you and then there might be some little silly spot for your friends. So how about you scram and honor our friendship by not arresting me since I'm not the guilty one here." Samael lost his patience and his speech came out through his clenched teeth and with an ominous grin on his lips.
With unexpected swiftness Aveline closed the distance between them, clasping Samael's bare shoulders with her gloved hands.
"Listen to me, you brat. I didn't come here to arrest you, although I'm starting to regret it right now. Tell me honestly, did you or did you not kill Haydée Morrell, the Coterie leader?" she searched his face cautiously.
"Tell me, Aveline, how many times you've seen me killing anyone?" he asked her, feeling as old and haggard as ever. "Have I ever concealed even one corpse from you?" he continued and Aveline scowled at him, but she was clearly thinking about his words. "So why would I do that now?" he finished his questioning, reacting at her not-spoken answers, shaking her hands off him. They were glaring at each other and Aveline must have had her famous patronizing look on her face since Samael shrieked after a minute "I didn't kill her, all right? I swear on my father's grave!"
"Your father has no grave, Hawke," Aveline droned, glancing at the cooling corpse.
"An insignificant detail…" Samael rolled his eyes, watching as Aveline's gaze slipped toward Merrill who was still crouching in the corner, snuggled into the fabric and busy ignoring Fawn's soothing words. If Aveline figured out that Merrill might have something to do with the Haydée's death, she kept it to herself.
"I'll help Samael." Aveline spoke after a minute of uncomfortable silence, her words almost inaudible. "But you owe me big time, you ruffian!" Aveline brandished her gloved hand in front of Hawke's face. "And if I find out you lied to me, I'm done with you, understood?" Aveline's eyes pierced him through and Hawke puffed out in relief. "I'm serious, Samael, I'll hunt you down as any other swashbuckler in this damned city!" Aveline made sure she was perfectly clear with her statement and perfectly clear she was indeed.
"Thank you… friend," Samael whispered with his head hanging. Then he realized he was under the fire of gazes of everyone - Aveline, Donnic, Bodahn, Fawn, Merrill, Charon and even Haydée's empty eyes were set at him.
"All right!" Samael woke up from his lethargy and rubbed his palms. "Let me get dressed and we'll do something about… her." His hesitant gaze wandered at the dead woman again, then he bolted up the stairs, Charon haring behind him, thinking it was a game and there was a bone no doubt for the one who would be the first at the bedroom.
"Donnic, take the rest of my Guardsmen back to barracks and I want a report from you regarding that bar fight at the Swaying Boar inn we were dealing with when Mahariel appeared." Aveline had obviously calmed down since she gave this order to Donnic with a perfectly cold and steady voice. Donnic bowed, not taking his admiring eyes off his Captain, and left the mansion to fulfill his order. What was Aveline's surprise when he came back in a minute, leaning casually on the doorframe although he gulped loudly at the sight of the corpse.
"I meant you would go with them, Guardsman!" Aveline stalked to him, surprised when she glimpsed a wave of defiance running across Donnic's face.
"Serah Hawke can obviously use a friend here, Captain," he threw a comment, not daring looking at Aveline.
"Well, I'm certainly honored you consider me a friend, Donnic, but…" Samael's voice entered their dispute; he intended to send Donnic away, but then he glanced at Donnic's broad back and strong arms, realizing he could definitely use him tonight. He turned to the elves and Fawn stood up when he saw Samael's mute question.
"Fawn…" he addressed him nervously. "Please stay with her. Don't leave her alone," he asked him, glancing at the torpid elven girl. She had one of his throwing knives in her right hand, staring at it intently, oblivious to everything else around her.
Samael dropped to one knee by her, lifting her chin gently and waiting impatiently for her to look at him. "I want you to sit in my armchair in our bedroom and wait for me there," he instructed her rather sternly, his eyes following her hand when she hid the knife beneath the blanket. That was the only reaction he got from her, so he slowly stood up after a moment.
"Don't… leave… her… alone," he implored the elven warrior, squeezing his shoulder. Fawn's face darkened when he realized it was pure fear in the assassin's eyes.
"I can help, Samael," Fawn returned an intense gaze and his white hand covered Samael's. He thought at first the elf was about to sweep his hand off him, but he clasp it instead.
"You've already helped. Thank… you," Samael stammered, glancing at Merrill again. "Look after her, please." With these words Hawke turned around, realizing Donnic with Aveline had put Haydée into black duffel, brought by the thoroughly prepared dwarf. The three of them nodded at each other, Aveline and Donnic grabbed the duffel while Samael sheathed his daggers and fastened the leather strip with throwing knives across his chest again. He ordered his mabari to stay here and guard the estate with a brief move of his hand.
"Shall we…?" Samael chuckled mirthlessly, gesturing towards the front door with a king-like
bow.
oOo
Aveline shoved them with their burden into the nearest alcove, standing casually at the entrance, observing her glove. When the drunken couple stumbling home from some inn passed by, she hissed at them like the air was clear again, so they re-emerged from the darkness.
"Are we there yet?" Donnic asked, glancing around with a nervous tic.
"Actually… yes," Samael breathed out, nodding towards the graveyard gate made of solid iron. He carefully laid his side of the duffel down, fiddling with the lock briefly and Donnic mirrored him and dropped the bag as well. He got double scorching glares for this insensitive handling of the dead woman, but he felt like defending himself.
"What?" he peeped. "It's not like she could feel it, right?" he watched Captain's glum face and shut up. When the massive lock became loose, Aveline grabbed the bag instead of Samael, hissing impatiently at Donnic who was twiddling his thumbs above the corpse.
"I swear, I would never think of hiding a dead body at the graveyard, Serah Hawke," Donnic sniggered, panting under the weight of the Haydée's body.
"Yeah, fucking brilliant I am…" Samael snorted, staring around intently, trying to pierce the darkness and make sure nobody was following them. He scouted the surroundings, nodding at them to follow him when he found an empty dug up grave, waiting for a burial ceremony of some deceased person. Donnic squealed when he stepped on a shovel wallowing in the grass, but Samael silenced him, taking the shovel with him and grinning at Aveline.
"I swear, Hawke, I will cut your balls off for this," Aveline scowled at him, but stumbled behind him with a bag in her hands.
"Hey! I still have no idea how she showed up dead at my estate, Captain! I'm more like… a cleaner. Yes, think about me as a cleaner of this mess." Samael replied, raising a hand when his trained ears caught distant voices. Donnic with Aveline set the corpse down, panting and brushing their sweaty foreheads.
"Shit and double shit on my head," Samael whispered to himself when a light of several torches started approaching them. Because they were standing right above the empty grave, Aveline didn't wait for anything and jumped right in, crouching there like a cat and cursing her clanking armor.
"Whaaa…" Donnic opened his mouth, much slower in a thinking process than his Captain, so Samael simply pushed him into the hollow as well, kicked the bag onto Donnic's head, so it swatted him down, then Samael leapt down there himself, pressing onto the grave side, motionless.
As the voices were echoing louder and louder at the graveyard, Samael's heart started racing and he glanced desperately at his accomplices who were dragged into this mess because of him.
"Listen, Captain…" Donnic rasped, watching the light above his head growing brighter with a helpless expression.
"Shut up, Donnic!" Aveline whispered back, hitting him.
"No. I need to say this since we're about to die here or be hanged for a murder," Donnic insisted, his voice pouting, but oddly steady.
"What in the Maker's name, Donnic —" Aveline sizzled at him, but Donnic interrupted her.
"I love you, Captain. Whatever we're gonna face in a minute, I'll face it gladly, knowing I stand by your side and —" Donnic started vexing lyrical about his feelings for Aveline.
"I said… shut up!" Aveline stopped him mercilessly, putting a hand across Donnic's mouth. It's necessary to remark that Donnic's face lit up immediately and relaxed when she actually touched him.
"Yes, please, shut up…" Samael groaned to himself, feeling awkward about this emotional geyser although it was channeled to Aveline, but he was the one who had to listen to it. It came to him just at this very moment that he would probably get through this anyway, Donnic was just an ordinary Guardsman, unknown, so he wasn't in danger either, but Aveline – as a Guards Captain, she put her job and her stainless reputation at stake here, because Samael was stuck in this shitstorm and he was selfish enough to drag her right into it with him.
Their eyes met, but Samael saw no grudge or reproof in Aveline's eyes, there was just a kind sorrowful smile for her friend and a distant sadness about losing what she had treasured the most in her life after Wesley's death. A various memories about the moments he had shared with Aveline were whirling through Hawke's head, his mind frantically searching for a solution, but, Maker, he had so little time left, since the voices were so close they were able to hear clearly the spoken words.
"What did the note say, Messere Morrell?" an unfamiliar gravelly voice asked and Samael lost his last hope when he realized the question was aimed at Raen who was there as well from unknown reasons.
"My sister called me here in an urgent matter. Nothing more. I have to admit I'm very concerned since this isn't like her…" Raen's voice died away as he started musing about the peculiar note Haydée had sent him by his own words. "No, nothing like her. She is dealing with her problems strictly alone… my sister." Raen chuckled with uneasiness. Samael knew he was about to be found hidden in the grave, with the body of Raen's sister in a black bag, along with one Guardsman who was as brave as a guppy fish and Guards Captain who wouldn't have any explanation for being here. Well, not other than helping an infamous mercenary to hide a dead body here.
A second before the crescent of dancing light coming from the nearest torch revealed them, Samael did the only thing that occurred to him regarding saving Aveline at least, since he was – as he had said aptly – viciously fucked already.
Samael ripped the Guards helmet out of Donnic's hands since he was scrunching it in his palms for a minute along with chewing on his lower lip, and Hawke thrust the helmet onto Aveline's head with all his might and dexterity.
"What the hell…!" Aveline mumbled beneath the helmet, her voice sounded hollow and choked. At the same moment, the light chased away the shadows in the pit, revealing all four of them to a Raen's minion, who shouted in all four directions to announce his finding.
Samael just sighed in submission of the fact Raen was about to kill him.
"Hawke?" Morrell asked in disbelief when he halted at the edge of Samael's hollow. Samael couldn't resist and burst out laughing at this irony of standing in the middle of a dug up grave in front of Raen Morrell with his dead sister behind his back, hidden in the duffel. Hidden just for now, no doubt. "What… What are you doing here?" Raen demanded an explanation, his eyes narrowed in suspicion and confusion.
"Ah, just prowling around the graveyard, you know, haunting the strangers and sucking blood from innocent virgins," Samael attempted to sound just as pure as those virgins he had mentioned, but Raen wasn't a fool. He saw just fine those two trembling Guards by Hawke's side and a big black bag at the bottom of a pit. A sudden odd feeling in his belly disturbed him and it took him a while until he realized what was going on.
"What is… in that bag, Hawke?" he asked slowly, not taking his eyes from the bag.
"Nothing," Samael replied quickly; perhaps too quickly.
"I asked you what's in this bag, Hawke!" Raen lost his patience, grabbing the torch from his thug and jumping into the grave to see for himself.
"All right, Raen, I happen to… be in need of disposing a corpse. My minions dressed like the Guards are helping me, that's all." Samael managed to get a hold of himself again and he said this statement in a cold demeanor and with self-assured expression on his face.
But Raen was far beyond the point of buying any explanation Samael would offer to him and obviously he intended to look at the corpse no matter what Samael would say or do. He pulled out a knife, ready to slash the bag open, but Samael's hand caught his in the air, his eyes warning Morrell not to do that.
Raen opened his mouth, then set his jaw again, but somehow he knew. And when Samael took a good look at Raen's expressive face, he knew that his rival knew.
"It's… her, isn't it… She's in there." Raen breathed out, gaping at the bag beneath his feet.
Samael saw no point in proceeding with this ridiculous game, so he just nodded, but Raen didn't see it.
"Is it my sister in there, Hawke?" Raen asked again, his voice becoming desperate and mad.
"Yes. It's Haydée. She's dead, Raen. I'm… sorry." Samael stayed still, anticipating some reaction. He watched as Raen slowly ripped the bag apart, revealing Haydée's serene face. Raen staggered backwards when he realized Haydée's blood was all over her and a long deep slash was grinning at him from her throat.
"You… you… I'LL KILL YOU!" Raen threw himself at Hawke and Aveline was astounded when she realized Samael had no intentions to fight back. When the blade flashed in Raen's hand, ready to jab it into Samael's body, Aveline caught the armed hand with her own vice-like hands and pried the knife out of it without words. In the meantime Donnic unsheathed his sword, gazing above him at the shocked thugs peering at them.
Raen seemed to come back to his senses, glancing around wildly.
"I did not kill your sister." Samael said it slowly and explicitly like he was convinced if he said it slow and clear enough, Raen would believe him. "Look, Raen, we seriously need to talk. Somebody is playing us both and I'm afraid that —" Samael thought a little explanation was in order, but Raen silenced him with both raised arms.
"No, Hawke," he shook his head, scatterbrained. "No more foul words out of your filthy mouth," he spluttered at the silent Samael, pacing around the small rectangle hole. "Help me get her up," he looked up at Hawke after a minute with this most unexpected and cold order.
Samael shrugged and soon he was standing on the grass in a circle of Raen's men, with his 'Guards' by his side and Haydée lying in the open bag in front of them. Raen seemed to calm down at least a little as he kneeled by his sister's body, hypnotized by her pale face.
"She looks like she's just sleeping…" Raen muttered to himself, stroking Haydée's hair off her forehead. When he slowly rose and halted in front of the Hawke, their eyes clashed mercilessly and they were estimating each other for long minutes. Raen cocked his head after this wordless pause, raising his right hand hesitantly. Samael's head swiveled on right as a fierce slap landed on his cheek, but he remained calm and turned his head back to face his implacable rival again.
"I didn't kill her," Samael whispered. A second slap was an answer for his words. He turned his head slowly back again and Aveline stirred by his side, her hands groping for her sword. Samael stopped her with a brief glance telling her not to interfere.
"I will kill you for this, Hawke." Raen was nodding to underline his intentions, his insane eyes popping out of his head. "I'll set a day and an hour when your life will be ended. Don't you worry; you'll recognize it when it comes. In the meantime, I'll try to sweeten your waiting for the inevitable end," Raen sneered at him, waving at his men to lift his sister. They left the graveyard immediately, leaving the three of them alone.
Samael wasn't able to control himself anymore and he collapsed into the crushed grass, clenching his hair in pure despair. Donnic caught Aveline's mute order and stepped a few steps away, searching the night sky and leaning on the shovel he kept dragging with himself.
Captain sat down in the grass right next to Hawke cautiously, silent, realizing he had saved her a few minutes ago. She took off the helmet finally, tossing it far away and her arm slipped rather clumsily around her companion. Of course she knew Samael was the one dragging her into this mess in the first place, but now it didn't matter. Finally she had confirmed Samael was deep in his heart still human being, still able to get attached to somebody and feel responsible for his own deeds and decisions. He went through Raen's insults and threats with his head raised, knowing he was innocent here, yet he suffered Raen's rampage without needless words, since Raen wouldn't let him speak to defend himself anyway. He even felt sorry for Raen's loss, knowing exactly how he felt since Samael himself lost his family members one by one. At that very moment Samael grew up finally in Aveline's eyes and she knew there was a person sitting right beside her she could call a friend.