Chapter Two

"No."

That hadn't been the answer Hawke had been looking for...It looked like they needed to do a little more sweet talking – or begging which ever would get this onto the damn expedition. Pride could come later, when they actually had something to be proud of. Casting a sideward glance in her sister's direction she wasn't sure whether or not to be amused or irritated by the look of panicked resignation that had passed over her features, but catching her eye she jerked her head after the dwarf and quickly made to follow him. She would be damned if another one of her plans fell through for her mother to complain about and for Gamlen to try, in his own awkward and rude way, to make her feel a little better about. It was as though he'd seen a kindred spirit in her; another child who had always come secondary and hadn't quite had the heart to treat her like his sister and Bethany.

Not to mention she was pretty sure it was because she'd called him her favourite uncle and had been rather accepting about the whole deal that had set them on this path.

"So what's a year?" she said with a small smile, trying to make all of this sound better than it was, she certainly didn't want to be in servitude with some a mercenary group or a bunch of smugglers, but it didn't seem they had a choice. But as usual her attempts at humour didn't work...Carver would have laughed, after telling her she was a deranged bitch. The thought sent her stomach jerking with a painful lurch.

She missed him.

"Will they just take Marea? Bethany isn't suited to a life of smuggling and I don't want her working for mercenaries."

Both Gamlen and Aveline had stiffened, staring between the blonde, who was simply looking at her mother like she hadn't expected anything different, and Leandra, who seemed to have realised that what she'd just said might have insulted the others. Gamlen shook his head after a moment of silence, grumbling something that sounded suspiciously akin to the phrase 'like mother like daughter' and answered the question.

"They'll want both of them, Leandra. That was the deal, and Bethany's a mage, they'll want her more than Marea."

So perhaps he wasn't her favourite uncle...Of course they wanted Bethany.

"It's just...Marea's used to this sort of thing...and Bethany is..."

Aveline seemed to have heard enough and jumped to help Hawke, trying to end the conflict without upsetting either side, though it simply sounded like she was defending Bethany. Not that she was surprised; that was simply how it was. Everyone defended Bethany. "I'm sure Hawke won't let any harm come to your youngest, mistress...but what of me? I won't let others incur a debt on my behalf?"

Leandra's answer didn't skip a beat, "Then you'll come with us."

The red head seemed shocked for a moment that she had been welcomed so easily into the family when Hawke was obviously struggling to stay inside it before slowly inclining her head, placing a hand on Marea's shoulder and squeezed gently as they turned to speak with the two groups that held their wellbeing in their (unsavoury) hands.

Gamlen had taken her aside when they'd finally got into Kirkwall, if she remembered rightly; he'd given her an awkward pat on the head and told her not to worry about her mother – it seemed to be a family trait that the women always seemed to hate one of their children. She hadn't been sure what to say, hearing someone tell her that her mother hated her had been a bit of a shock, but the sentiment behind his words was what had mattered and she'd bobbed her head in thanks before trailing back towards the rest of her family.

She needed a long stiff drink if she was actually considering her uncle as an ally. Maker help her.

"Come now, Bartrand," the blonde continued sweetly, falling into step just behind him with Bethany trailing along dejectedly in the rear. Well, if she carried on like that they would never get to deal; looking over her shoulder she made a gesture for her sibling to smile before turning back. "If you'd only – "

"No! Andraste's tits, human!" the stout man cut across her grumpily and stalked into the Merchant Guild's courtyard, barely glancing back at them. "You know how many people want to hire on to this expedition?"

Marea and Bethany shared a look, one that told the younger woman to use her fabled 'charm' on Bartrand because her's didn't seem to be working. Not that she was surprised, Bethany had always been best at getting what she wanted; why shouldn't she succeed?

"But we heard you're going into the Deep Roads. Surely you'll need all the help you can – "

"No."

Narrowing her eyes at the dwarf Hawke crossed her arms and jutted out her right hip, any pleasure she might have felt that her sister had failed to get the dwarf on side was overshadowed by irritation. He really needed to stop interrupting them; it was starting to grate on her nerves. Nerves that were already frayed from the argument she and Leandra had got into that morning about the incident with the Templars last week. How had she supposed to know that the little weasel would rat Bethany out the moment he was free from the contract they'd been working on together?

She wasn't a mind reader. Bethany was the mage, not her. She couldn't help but wonder if maybe their mother forgot that sometimes.

The two sisters stopped in front of Bartrand, one of their Paragons at his back, the younger pleading while the older simply glowered down at the dwarf – he quailed, but only barely.

"Too late! Already done," he protested and shrugged, "This is the sort of venture that can make a man for life! I'm not about to take any chances hiring random humans."

Liar.

The thought had come unbidden, but now she lingered on it she realised it was true. Working for Meeran over the past year had left her with a keen talent for reading people; and Bartrand was screaming dishonesty. He wasn't worried about hiring 'random humans' he just wanted to keep his costs low so his profits would be high. Marea couldn't help but wonder if he was going to get the expedition destroyed down in the Deep Roads because of it.

Offering the dwarf a cunning smile the rogue rested a gloved hand over her heart and the issue mercenary leathers Meeran had given her before she'd left as a gift of 'good faith' before gesturing towards the Blooming Rose with her free hand. She just wants drinks of course, she had enough self-dignity not to go around offering herself up just to get what she wanted, but if there was one thing she did know, it was that men were far more receptive to arguments when their attention was distracted by their three favourite things; arse, tits and legs. "Get to know us, Bartrand. I'll buy you a pint and we can talk business."

"Get in line, human. Half of Kirkwall wants to be my best friend right now," Bartrand ground out ignoring her wiles with sheer stubbornness...or stupidity she was sure. "You're looking for a way out of slums right? You and every other Ferelden in this dump. Find another meal ticket."

Shit. She was never going to hear the end of it now; Bethany would run home and tell mother how she'd failed to charm the gullible dwarf into letting them join the expedition and how now they were going to have to formulate another grand plan. It was easy for both of them to judge, she didn't see themcoming up with any bright ideas; mother had never had to do an honest days work in her life, and by default neither had Bethany. They just sat there criticizing and waiting for her to pull the high life out of her arse. Just like that. If only it were that easy.

"What are we supposed to do now? We've got nothing to stop the next person who tries to sell me out. This expedition was our last chance..."

By the Maker...Once, just once she wished it wasn't all about the Templars chasing after Bethany. Yes, if she was caught at best she could be taken to the Circle and at worse she could be killed, but it wasn't like Marea was going to walk away from the whole ordeal without her knees skinned should her sister be caught. She'd killed her own fair share of Templars to keep the bastards away from her (ungrateful) sibling and if they found out it had all been her doing to protect the apostate she'd probably be executed on the spot.

"Don't worry, Bethany. I'll keep the big, bad Templars away." It wouldn't be the first time...

"It's not funny!"

Oh to the void with that! Surely she wasn't about to start crying? She was almost eighteen, hadn't she gone past the age of tearing up at every hard problem they faced? "Calm down. I was teasing you. I won't let anything happen to you, Bethany. You know that."

Not like Carver...I made a promise and Andraste be my witness I'm not going to fail Papa again. I owe him that much.

"We need coin, status, something we can hide behind," the brunette said finally, placated by her other sibling's gentle reassurance and started towards the market, her brow furrowed in concentration. "So long as we're just refugees we're no one."

With a sigh Bethany stopped and Hawke crossed her arms, waiting for her sister to say something; there was no way she was going to come up with a plan off the top of her head. She was putting her foot down; it was someone else's turn to take the reins, if only for a little while. "Maybe Gamlen knows someone who can talk to Bartrand for us?"

"Gamlen?" she snorted and shook her head with a chuckle. "He's not exactly the most reliable tool in the shed...but sure, maybe some of his bullshit will work on Bartrand. They seem to speak the same language."

"You know Mama doesn't like it when you talk like that, Marea...It's not really right for a woman to – "

Narrowing her eyes on her sister she silenced her with a look and stalked to the steps that would lead them to the bazaar and then to Lowtown. "I'm not discussing it, Bethany. It's just a habit that wore off on me from Meeran, not all of us had mother breathing down our neck's to make sure we behaved like a good little girl."

Maker knows Leandra didn't care a bit if her eldest wandered about dressed and behaving like an uncouth adolescent boy.

Bethany reddened and opened her mouth to say something, but (praise the Maker) she simply closed it and followed after her sister. They didn't get far before Marea was pushed aside rudely, but such behaviour was normal when dealt towards the Ferelden refugees, and while they tried to dress like the Kirkwall residents there was no getting around the fact that the eldest sibling looked like typical 'barbarian' woman. Carver and Bethany had been graced with their mother's softer, aristocratic facial features and her slightly dusky skin, while Marea had their father's sharper face with high cheekbones and his expressive, but blunt gaze, not to mention she was pale as snow and burnt in the Free Marches hot sun.

However something was wrong when the man who'd ran into them started to walk away, her left hip felt a little lighter and the blonde pressed her hand to the empty strings where the purse usually hung. That nug humping...

"Hey! Get back here you little shit!"

Both the pickpocket and Hawke burst into a sprint, her nimbler frame making it easy to keep up with him even with his head start and at a glance over her should she saw Bethany trailing behind her. However she didn't get the chance to catch the man herself, because as she turned the corner she found him pinned to the wall, by a crossbow bolt as a suave looking dwarf stalked towards him.

"I knew a guy once who could take every coin out of your pockets just by smiling at you. But you? You don't have the style to work Hightown, let alone the Merchant's Guild," he taunted and held out his hand for Hawke's pitiful purse. Marea watched as the cutpurse reluctantly handed over his stolen goods and as the dwarf slugged him over the jaw for his struggles. "Might want to find yourself a new line of work."

Removing the bolt from the thief's shoulder the beardless dwarf sent him on his merry way and slowly sauntered, because the way the man moved couldn't be anything but a saunter, towards them, Bethany breathing heavily behind her as she ground to a halt. Hawke held out her hand for her purse and offered the dwarf a small smile of thanks as he tossed it her way.

"How do you do? Varric Tethras at your service...I – apologise for Bartrand. He wouldn't know an opportunity if it hit him square in the jaw."

"But you would?"

Varric chuckled at the incredulous look that passed over Marea's face and the way she cocked an eyebrow and folded her arms, shifting her weight onto one leg."I would! What my brother doesn't realise is that we needsomeone like you. He would never admit it, either – he's too proud. But I am quite practical."

Bethany shifted behind her and Hawke turned to see what the woman thought about all of this; after all they were going into this together, it should be a joint decision. At the nod the blonde settled her attention back on Varric, not moving or saying a word for a good four or five seconds; it was only when he started shifting awkwardly under her unwavering gaze that she spoke.

"What makes you so certain we can help? You know nothing about us."

"On the contrary," the dwarf chuckled again and shook his head. "You've made quite the name for yourself over the last year. I know everything worth knowing in Kirkwall and you were behind three off the biggest assassinations this city has ever seen and not once got caught...not bad for a Ferelden fresh off the boat."

"Urgh, don't remind me. I was washing the blood out for weeks, even got on my smalls; had to buy myself some new boots too," she mumbled with a wry smile.

"Ha! I don't doubt it. My point is you're sneakier than a Crow and we need you on the expedition."

"That's because I'm a Hawke, not a Crow."

The dry comment was rewarded with another deep laugh and Varric nodded once, his eyes taking in the woman's appearance. It seemed everything his contacts had said about Marea Hawke was true; equal parts deadly and beautiful in a way that drew you in but struck fear into your heart all at the same time. With cutting wit to boot. She had it all and he had no doubt he'd be telling tales about her before their time was through.

It was then Bethany decided to speak up. "We should listen to what he has to offer. It's not like we have any other plans."

All three of them noted the silent accusation in that last sentence, and while Varric was staring at the brunette as if he'd expected the two sisters to be on better terms with one another, Hawke pressed on. "You're going an awfully long way for a couple more guards..."

"We don't need another hireling," the blonde man said bluntly, causing Hawke to raise her eyebrow and cross her arms once more – minus the hip. Varric wasn't sure why that had needed to be mentioned, but he was certain she only jutted out her hip when she was pissed off; like a silent warning that a predator was about to cut your life short. "We need a partner. Truth is Bartrand's been tearing his beard out trying to fund this thing on his own, but he can't do it. Invest in the expedition; fifty sovereigns and he can't say no. Not with me there to vouch for you."

Marea snorted. Fifty sovereigns? Was this dwarf one arrow short of a quiver? Well...It would explain why he didn't have a beard.

"I hope there's more to this grand plan of yours, Varric...Like howI'm supposed to get that much coin together, you felt my purse, it's lighter than air."

"You need to think big! There's only a brief window of opportunity after a Blight when the Deep Roads won't be crawling with darkspawn. The treasure you find down there could set you and your family up for life."

He was charming, Hawke would give him that; and he seemed to have ensnared her sister. But she couldn't help but be a little dubious about the whole idea, if this 'window of opportunity' was as short as he made it out to be what were the odds of her putting aside all of that money in time to make good on it?

"It won't be easy, but it's a chance. I think we have to take it. Better to work our way onto this expedition than to sit around waiting to be thrown into the Gallows."

Or to be killed.

"We work together, you and I, and we'll have all the capital you need. What do you say?"

Glancing between the dwarf and Bethany the blonde frowned, weighing up the pros and cons for such a deal. Varric Tethras seemed like the kind of person who was handy to have around in a tight spot; he had even more of a liquid silver tongue than she did, and her sister seemed to be all for the plan...It was just the issue of money...Fifty sovereigns...

"Oh...why not? It's not like I had anything better to do with my time," she sighed finally and offered the dwarf a short nod.

"Trust me; Kirkwall's crawling with work, you set aside some coin after every job and you'll have the money in no time," Varric assured brightly and offered the pair a smooth smile, hooking his thumbs in his belt as Bethany mentioned Aveline, nodding sagely. "We should speak privately when you get the chance. In the Hanged Man maybe – I'll be there when I'm not with you."

Hawke nodded and uncrossed her arms, chewing her lower lip in thought. Aveline would be their best bet, the red head knew all sorts of things; especially the kind of things that got them paid. "How about Friday night? I can buy you a pint with the coin I dohave before we get in too deep."

"Sounds good to me. Now, let's go see what trouble we can stir up."

"Nice place you got here..."

Varric looked up from the maps he'd been pouring over to see Hawke leaning against the doorframe of his suite with two tankards in her hands and chuckled, waving her in. She swept her gaze appreciatively over the furnishings before placing the mead on the table and settled in his seat; he didn't have the heart to tell her to move as she got herself comfortable and instead watched as she swung her legs up onto the armrest.

He was surprised to see that when she wasn't in her armour the woman dressed rather conservatively, far more so than he would have expected from someone like her. He'd thought her to be the kind of girl to flaunt her Maker given assets, but here she was, hair still pulled tight in her braid, wearing a pair of fabric trousers, tucked into her boots and a light green tunic, barely cinched in at her waist by a belt that held a wicked dagger for all to see. It didn't make her look unattractive by any stretch of the imagination; it just hardened her.

"I see you brought drink," he stated gratefully and lifted the mug to his lips to take a gulp of the foul liquid, pulling a face and shuddering.

"A promise is a promise. Coriff showed me the way up."

"Well, now you're here...We have one small wrinkle in the plan – "

Hawke chuckled at this and raised her tankard in a sort of salute and winked before taking a long draught, almost instantly erupting into loud coughing and spluttering. The dwarf bore her outburst in silence, waiting for her to finish, and, eyes streaming, she finally choked out. "Only one? I can think of several."

"Your trust in me is inspirational; you can't tell me that after the week we've had that you haven't completely fallen in love with me?"

There was a long pause where the woman seemed to be fishing for something to say, or how to say it. Now this was new, he'd expected her to be fluent in flirting but perhaps not... "I never give the game away on the first night spent together, sorry Varric."

Ah, or not. He shouldn't be surprised, a year with a bunch of mercenaries must have given her plenty of opportunity to brush up on her skills if they'd been lacking before she came to Kirkwall; though how a woman of her beauty had escaped male attraction for all these years he wasn't sure. Both sisters had a charm about them that any self-respecting whore would killto have.

Come to think of it, Bethany wasn't here.

"So where's Sunshine?"

His question was greeted with another long pause as Marea brushed her fingers over the handle of her tankard and worried her lower lip before answering. "She's at home; mother didn't want her somewhere like this. Why?"

The slight hesitancy in her voice and the way she quietened had Varric quickly covering his mistake at mentioning her sibling. If he hadn't been suspicious of their relationship he was now; whatever was going on between them it wasn't good. He knew the signs, he had similar problems with his own brother; he'd just expected Hawke to be strong enough to ignore it...or perhaps he was just reading too much into it.

"No reason, Elfroot...I was just curious is all – "

"Elfroot? That's your nickname for me? What was wrong with Hawke?"

Varric chuckled. "You're not exactly a bird of prey; you're deadly yes, but you just don't looklike a hawk...a dove, yes, but not a hawk. And I called you Elfroot for a number of reasons, each sappier than the next, but long story short you're constantly picking the stuff whenever you find it, so it stuck."

They both laughed at that and Marea had quickly explained that as a rogue it was always handy to pick up any herbs you might come across in the wild to replenish your stocks to save money when the time came to make something with them and finished off their mead. Varric ordered another round and moved to stand in front of the fire, spreading his hands over the maps he'd been looking at before she'd arrived.

"So here's the snag; we need to find a way into the Deep Roads. Bartrand can lead us to the right place once we're down there, but we need a good entrance," he explained and nodded his thanks to the barmaid who placed the ale on the table, pulling the mug towards him to take a swig.

"Well any entrance will do won't it? Unless it's got a dragon sitting inside it; that would be bad."

"Yes," the dwarf chortled and shook his head, "That would be bad. Fortunately I've received some new information; there's a Grey Warden in the city. If anyone knows how to get down there it would be him."

Hawke's brow furrowed for a moment before grinning and lifted her drink to him, "Sounds like you've got everything under control, Varric."

"And that, messere, is why I'm here," he said with a little bow before sitting down in one of the less illustrious chairs, since the blonde was still draped across his usual throne. "Supposedly, this Grey Warden came in with some other Ferelden refugees not so long ago. A Lowtown woman named Lirene had been helping the Fereldens; we find her and we might find our Warden. I'll keep after my contacts – see if I can drum up any other work for us."

Marea surprised them both when she slammed her tankard down with a stern look, though it was ruined when she started giggling. "Enough about work, Varric. This is the first time all week I've managed to get away from my mother for the evening and I'll be damned if I'm not going to enjoy it; and to do that I need more drink. I'll buy."

With a devious smirk Varric reached into his coat and pulled out his deck of cards, "Have you ever played Wicked Grace?"

It had been a short stagger home from the Hanged Man, her purse considerably lighter thanks to the mead and Varric cheating her at his aptly named card game (she was glad she'd been putting the expedition fund in another purse in the locked chest beneath her bed – far away from her uncle) and her head swimming pleasantly. He'd offered to walk her home, but the yawn he'd been unable to suppress had made her refuse; it was only down the alley and she promised to stick to the shadows and keep out of sight. It had worked very well, until she'd stepped through the door to find her mother standing in her nightdress waiting for her.

"Maker's breath, Marea. What time do you call this?"

She groaned softly and ran her hand over her face, the beginnings of a headache starting. She really didn't want to deal with her mother right now, especially not when she was slightly inebriated.

"Aren't I a little old for you to be fussing over me like an infant?" You've never done it before, why start now?

The older woman scowled and crossed her arms, her face twisted by the shadows the dying fire cast over her face. "Where have you been?"

"Out," the blonde hissed curtly and started towards the door to the room she and Bethany, but the pad of the boots on the floorboards stopped suddenly when Leandra reached out to stop her eldest daughter.

"Have you been drinking?"

There was a long moment of silence before Hawke spoke, her eyes cutting into her mother piercingly, making the woman tense at the burning within her gaze. "Yes," she ground out finally and sneered, "What do you care? Scared I'll get stabbed on the way home and no one will be around to look after Bethany and keep Gamlen from tossing us out onto the streets?"

Her gut lurched guiltily as her mother looked down, hurt swimming on her face and for a moment she looked like she'd been slapped. And then she looked like she was about to slap her daughter. "How dareyou. That is completely unfair, Marea and you know it; I have never – "

Leandra silenced as the blonde raised her hand and pulled her arm free from her grasp with a sound similar to the one's Kodi made when he was upset, said hound had lifted his head and sleepily got to his feet, head cocking at the tension between his mistress and her mother. "I've got a headache and I'm tired. We can talk tomorrow."

Without another word she gestured for the Mabari to follow her and slipped into her room, leaving the older woman to stare after her in silence.

Marea stripped in silence, pulling the heavy woven nightshirt over her head and untied her hair, brushing her fingers through the rigid curls before reaching down to scratch behind Kodi's ears. Her reverie was broken suddenly by the sound of Bethany rolling over and she glanced behind her to see the girl peering at her from the top bunk.

"You shouldn't antagonise her you know...she only does it because she cares about you."

Antagonise her? Bethany thought that she antagonised their mother?

Scowling the blonde slid into bed, pinning herself against the wall and lifting the sheets so the large war dog could sidle up next to her – there wasn't enough room for him, and she usually made him sleep on the floor, but tonight she needed the comfort.

"I'm going to sleep, I'm tired. Goodnight, Bethany."

There was a long pause before the hay mattress above her head rustled as the younger woman settled herself once more, "Goodnight, Sister."

Wrapping an arm over the warm bulk of her Mabari, Marea buried her face into the scruff of his neck, sobbing quietly – another perfectly good evening ruined. As Kodi whined softly she pulled away and wiped her eyes on the long sleeve of her shirt, giving him a watery smile as she shifted into a more comfortable position.

"Goodnight boy."

The blonde couldn't help but giggle as a large slobbery tongue rasped against her cheek, and rubbing her face clean she wrapped her arms round him once more and closed her eyes.

She was going to have the mother of all hangovers tomorrow, of that she was sure.