"Excuse me, Messere Hawke," Bodahn knocked gently on her bedroom door. "Are you awake?"

"Hmm...?" Hawke moaned as she buried her head further under her covers.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Messere, but it is past noon, and Lady Amell has yet to return."

Hawke forced her eyes open and winced at the sunlight in her room.

"I told you it was late, Messere," Bodahn said, folding her clothes and placing them back in the drawers. "Had a late night last night, did you?"

"You said mother wasn't home yet?" Hawke propped herself up on her elbow and pushed back her hair.

"No ma'am, she wasn't here last night either. Must have found herself a suitor, too."

His 'too' rang hollow in her ears. She didn't have a suitor. Maybe she didn't even have a friend. Not after how she treated Fenris last night. Stupid stupid stupid.

"Do you know of her suitor, Bodahn?"

"Not much, I'm afraid. Only that they sent your mother these lovely white lillies the day before yesterday." Lillies, something about that rang a faint bell in her head. Maybe she was still drunk. Probably nothing.

"Okay, thank you Bodahn. I'm getting up now, thank you for waking me. Please send word if mother comes back while I'm out. I want to hear all about this suitor."

"Yes, Messere," Bodahn nodded his head as he closed the door behind her. She heard him walk down the stairs and then it was quiet.

She rolled out of bed, the blanket still draped over her shoulders and shuffled down to take a quick bath. She was so hung over, something which almost never happened to her. Bodahn had already drawn her a bath and she stepped her foot in it. It was tepid, probably because she took so long to wake up. It's my own damn fault, I guess.

She ducked her head under the water and sat there for a second, enjoying the muffled silence. She'd pay a visit to Merrill today, maybe, and see how her restoration of the E something was going. I can't get drunk again tonight, I think mother would kill me.

Where is she anyway?

She toweled off and combed back her hair. Her bath helped her hang over, her headache receding to just a dull throbbing in the back of her eyes. She ran down the stairs two at a time and made to walk out the front door and to the alienage when she saw, out of the corner of her eye - white lillies on the mantle. She could smell their strong perfume from here. She touched the velvety petals, something about this stirred memories deep in her mind. It made her head pound to think about it. What about these -

Gamlen slammed open the front door and stormed in.

"Where is she? We had an appointment and she never showed."

"What? What's going on Gamlen? Who and what are you talking about?"

"Your mother! We meet regularly and she never showed up. Is she here?"

"I'm sorry, master Gamlen, the Lady has not been home all night."

"What?" Gamlen stared accusingly at Hawke, spittle flying as he jabbed a shaking finger in her face.

She pushed it away and said, "No, Bodahn thinks she found someone to occupy her time."

"Oh really? Someone important enough to blow off her own brother?" he paused, looking around the room for the first time since he arrived. "Are those from this suitor person?" He asked, an edge to his voice, as he walked over to the lilies on the mantle.

"Yes, apparently."

"They're white, what an odd color." Something about that dredged up memories in Hawke's mind again. Something was wrong. Something something somethingsomethingsomething. A man in Hightown. A missing wife. A ring. A lover.

White lilies.

The color in Hawke's face drained and her knees buckled beneath her. She crashed to the floor, unable to breathe.

"Girl? What is it?" She just stared at him, her words escaping her. For the moment. Maybe forever. Her mother, something had happened. Those white lilies. The fragrance from them was suffocating her.

She pulled herself up using her uncle's sleeve and shook in his arms. He shot a confused look at Bodahn who just shrugged at him.

"She's gone."

"She's, she's what?"

"She's gone, uncle. We need to go find her. It wasn't a suitor, it was a criminal. A serial killer, maybe. We have to go," she grabbed her coat and ran out the front door, leaving Gamlen and Bodahn alone in the foyer with her mother's flowers.