Update 3/2/15

Bethany felt lost. The breach hung low in the sky, and she was beginning to wonder exactly how she was meant to even consider closing it. Small rifts in the Hinterlands were one thing, but the scar that cracked the sky was quite another.

Cassandra had proven a gift from the Maker. Where others deferred to Bethany, calling her Herald and waiting on her word, Cassandra spoke and guided the mage through decisions. It was a necessary balm in the midst of this chaos, and Bethany latched onto it. Yet she also found herself caring for those who joined her, from the Seeker and Varric to the man who claimed to the odd, supposed Warden who had joined in the Hinterlands. One member bothered Beth more than the others, however. She knew Leliana, knew the woman's careful grace, and was concerned. So she found herself approaching the tent of the Left Hand of the Divine, intent on speaking with her troubled friend.

Leliana was caught up in prayer when Bethany arrived. Not wishing to disturb, she stood to the side and let Leliana finish, her heart twisting as the confrontation unfolded. Hawke had known the woman was hurting, but this cut deeper. Leliana was crumbling. Beth wondered if this had happened before, and if so how Marian had handled it.

Bethany was definitely not prepared for the bard to turn on her. "You speak for Andraste, no?" the red-head demanded. "What does the Maker's prophet have to say about all of this? What's his game "

Calming herself, Bethany did all she could to remember Leliana's world had just been shattered. While she believed the Maker was at work in all things, she couldn't say she heard the plans. "I speak for no one but myself. I can't speak for Andraste!"

Leliana paused at that, considering. For a moment, Bethany felt the shift. Where before she had been a friend's sister, or the Inquisition's rallying cry, she seemed now to see a person. A friend of her own, Bethany hoped. "I used to think I was chosen, just as some say you are," Leliana confided. "I thought I was fulfilling his purpose for me- working with the Divine, helping people." Her face fell, tears of anger threatening to fall. "And now she's gone. It was all for nothing. Serving the Maker meant nothing."

"Maybe you have another purpose." Bethany drew closer, a hand finding its way onto Leliana's shoulder. "Let me help you find it." They were so close now, and Bethany's voice so soft... She could smell the faintest hint of Andraste's Grace in the air, and it was pleasant.

The two women stood in shocked silence. Bethany felt light-headed, and looked down quickly. She had been unprepared to realize she found Leliana so beautiful, here in her uncertainty- stumbling and human, for the first time Bethany had seen. Considering how strongly Bethany had felt for Orsino, the pluck at her desire was also confusing.

"No." Leliana's voice finally broke the enchantment that had lain bet the tent. "This is my burden. I regret that I even let you see me like this. It was a moment of weakness. It won't happen again."

Bethany placed herself in front of Leliana's work. "I hope it does happen again, Leliana," she asserted. "You don't have to just be strong. You can talk to me. I hope you will, because otherwise how can I hope to confide in you?"

The spymaster stumbled over her thoughts. Bethany knew only because she had seen Marian in moments of uncertainty, and the two apparently shared a thought process in that. Unlike how Marian would simply shrug and shut down however, Leliana ended with a nod. "If I have the need, then I will speak with you, Herald."

Bethany groaned. "Please call me Bethany. You, at least?"

"How about...Hawke?"

The thought brought a smile. "Alright then. If you must, you can call me Hawke."

0 * +

-You can call me Hawke.-

the words flew through Bethany's head as she walked through the cells with Dorian. She had found Cassandra and Varric, her mind numbing with pain for them. A year, Cassandra said. A year was all it had taken. Where was Carver? Nate? Marian? How could they sit by and let it happen? The walls were red with the malformed lyrium, the corruption strong through the castle.

It had all gone wrong. Bethany watched the memory in swift forward motion, but it always had a single center. Always the nightmares went to Leliana. Not because of anything that had been said, but because of one small moment. It was just after Bethany had freed the spymaster, loosing the bonds and rubbing at wrists that would be starved for circulation while desperately wishing she could locate her spirit friend. As Bethany apologized, Leliana looked up.

"If you're back from the dead, you'll have to do better than that." Then, unexpectedly, the red-head pulled in to press her lips against the mage's gently. "You're going to have to end all this."

That image then flowed into the image of Leliana as Dorian activated the amulet. She watched as Leliana fell to the guards, tears coming to her eyes as she heard the last few words of chant from the woman's lips.

"Bethany Hawke. I am sorry." The words reverberated in the Fade, stopping the nightmare in its tracks. "I have been late."

Bethany sighed at the relief as her dreamscape changed with the influence of Compassion. "Where have you been?"

"I have been stuck. We will meet again soon, and you will understand."

Bethany let the relief flood through her thoughts and woke. She let the sensation guide her awake, a smile on her face in spite of the confusion. The day was breaking. The most important day. And thanks to the timely intervention, she also was able to do so with a clearer mind.