It took less than a week for word of Hawke being made 'Tranquil' to spread through the entire city-state. Some people had the decency to attempt to be subtle with their gawking, like the Hightown nobility who whispered behind their hands and fluttering fans; others, such as most of Lowtown's common folk, stared openly, pointing at her as they discussed it with their companion. Hawke could do nothing about it, or react in any way besides answering politely any questions anybody asked about it. For the most part, she simply told everybody that she had been made Knight-Commander Meredith's new assistant, and that being Tranquil helped her stay focused.
Hawke was, of course, completely miserable. This whole ordeal was just as bad as, if not worse than, her mother's murderer walking free. This was even worse than Bethany's untimely death, she decided, as a drunkard openly pointed and laughed at her as she passed him. Orsino's potion did the trick, however. So long as she remembered to take her daily dose every morning of the foul-tasting brew, her emotions stayed damped down, and her connection to the Fade – and her magic – stayed distant and fuzzy, just out of reach.
The one bright spot of this miserable masquerade had to be that most of her family wasn't alive to endure this, though it was a cold comfort at best. Hawke's father had died a few years before the first whispers of the Blight had reached the Hawke family's ears. Bethany had perished before they even reached Kirkwall. Carver had fallen prey to the Blight's corruption far below the surface in the Deep Roads, and had only survived thanks to pure luck of a group of Wardens nearby and Anders' quick thinking. And her mother, of course, was murdered.
Hawke paused in her routine armor cleaning as her thoughts returned to Carver. They'd always had a rocky relationship, she admitted, but the two always loved each other dearly beneath the taunting and rivalry. After his twin's death, Carver had allowed Hawke closer, and they'd reconciled some of their differences once the reality of them being the last Hawke children had set in.
The thought occurred that word could potentially reach Carver soon of her predicament. Her brow furrowed in the echo of concern as she wondered if her brother might just storm out of Weisshaupt to track her down and berate her for being so careless.
The days dragged by with no sign of Quentin, nor any word from Meredith. Hawke tried to go about her business as normally as possible, considering the restrictions she was now under, with moderate success. She ran errands frequently, especially for Meredith. Her now-usual visits to the Gallows disguised her visits to Orsino for refills on his potion quite well.
"How much longer is this ruse going to be necessary?" Hawke asked Meredith one afternoon. "Surely you have some word on Quentin's whereabouts by now."
The Templar simply pinned her with an icy glare and said "You already know everything you need to be aware of."
Since word of Hawke's 'Tranquility' had become public, nearly all of Hawke's companions had become almost insufferable. Aveline and Sebastian both expressed their condolences and sympathies, but were stuck with their relative duties over their freedom to be out and about with Hawke. Merrill, Isabela, and Varric were all incredibly protective of Hawke, hanging back in fights to ensure that she was safe. But none of them matched the fierceness of Fenris and Anders when it came to her safety. Though their loyalty and affection was touching, Hawke found it more than a little stifling.
Being unable to use magic in a fight was a handicap, certainly, but she was far from defenseless. Hawke hadn't spent her teenage and young adult years only honing her magical talent, but her companions either didn't know or had forgotten that she was quite capable of swinging around a very heavy staff as if it were made of rolled paper.
Their mother-henning relented only following Hawke, Fenris, Isabela, and Varric being jumped by a group of thugs in Lowtown one evening. Fenris and Isabela got drawn into the thick of the fight, as usual, with Varric hanging back near Hawke.
Hawke parried a slashing sword in time to hear Varric shout behind her. She turned to see that his assailant had gotten his blade stuck in Bianca's retractable arms, and the two were locked in a struggling stalemate. Seeing that Hawke was relatively helpless, without Varric's protection, the three thugs who weren't actively fighting anybody all advanced on her.
"Hawke!" Varric shouted. Fenris' head whipped around, and his face twisted in desperation as he saw her retreating away from the attackers.
"Hawke, run!" Fenris shouted before his assailant sliced at him again. He blocked the blow, only barely escaping being cut in two. "Run!" Isabela glanced desperately at Hawke, herself still only barely managing to hold off two men slicing at her with daggers.
Hawke twirled her staff idly, staring down the men with a neutral stare. "I wouldn't advise this," she said lightly, readying herself. The first man charged her, his sword flashing in the moonlight. She sidestepped him easily, swinging the staff around so the round, heavy end of it slammed into the back of his head with a dull crunch. She turned in time for the second to leap forward; she parried his sword and sliced the blade of her staff across his torso. The man fell silently to the ground as the last man stepped forward.
He was smarter than the other two; he stepped close where she couldn't maneuver with her staff. Hawke tried to push him back but he grabbed her staff, anchoring them together. She twisted and stomped her foot down on the arch of his foot. The thug howled in agony, and she heard a clatter as the man dropped his sword. She yanked backwards and pulled free of him while he was distracted, then leapt forward again and sank the blade of her staff deep into his torso.
The man gurgled, staring at her with wide eyes as the color drained from his face. He opened his mouth and coughed, blood sputtering and dripping from his lips. Hawke jerked the blade out of him with a sickening squelch, then twisted and sliced swiftly across his throat for a quick death. The man collapsed at her feet, lifeless.
Hawke took a second to catch her breath, then looked back at her companions. The other thugs had fled, and now Varric, Isabela, and Fenris were all staring at her, their eyes wide with shock. Fenris nearly ran over to her, quickly patting her down to assess any damage.
"How on earth did you manage that?" Isabela wondered, astonished.
"I don't rely only on magic for protection," Hawke explained. Fenris wiped away a small spatter of blood from her cheek as he sighed in relief. "This staff is still heavy and it will still hurt if it hits someone in the head or if I stab somebody with the blade, after all."
"I guess that's true," Varric chuckled as he finally untangled the knife from his crossbow's workings. "Glad to see you're still in one piece after all that."
Though everyone else relented afterwards on trying to keep her safe, Fenris still always stayed close, eyeballing any potential threats lest any harm come to her.
If there was any upside to this miserable masquerade, it had to be that at least Fenris and Anders weren't as antagonistic as they normally were. They still bickered, of course, but their normal venom was lacking.
"I fail to see how you being Tranquil will draw Quentin out," Fenris confessed to her one evening. Hawke looked up from her dinner, chewing thoughtfully.
"We have to be patient, Fenris," she said at length. "It's been nearly three weeks of the entire Templar force being out for him, Meredith must be close to finding him."
Silently, Hawke agreed with Fenris. This charade had dragged on long enough. Still, if for nothing else but her friends' safety, she bit her tongue.
Four weeks had now passed since Quentin had kidnapped her mother for use in his grotesque experiment. Though Orsino's potion did its job of keeping her emotions in check, she still relished the hot flames that rose under her skin at the thought of finally getting justice against him. That morning, her persistence finally paid off. Bodahn greeted her cheerfully, saying a letter had arrived for her. Hawke's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the Templar insignia on the wax seal. She cracked it open and read it anxiously, though of course it didn't show.
"Serah Hawke,
It is time. Please come to the Gallows tonight at 7pm to assist in the destruction of all materials pertaining towards blood magic and necromancy that we have collected. We shall ensure that no other mage will ever attempt what the maleficar Quentin has done. We are confident that our special guest shall attend.
Cordially, Knight-Commander Meredith Stannard."