Just so everyone knows, school has officially started again, much to my dismay. I promise I will try to update as often as I can!

One year. That's how long it had been since the Hawke family arrived in Kirkwall. Bethany and Ellendrya had been in servitude for a year now.

Ellendrya woke the morning of their anniversary to a runner knocking at Gamlen's door. She opened the door sleepily and handed the messenger some coin before retrieving the message and closing the door.

Hawke, it read.

Your year's up and you're free to go. Despite what you think, we had a good thing working together. I might pass along an opportunity or two, if you're willing to get your hands dirty. Stay safe.

Athenril

Even though the elf had squeezed as much work out of Ellendrya as she could, it put food on the table for Hawke's family and paid the bills. Even if it wasn't pleasant working for her, Ellendrya respected the smuggler greatly.

"What's that?" Bethany asked as she walked in groggily.

"From Athenril," Ellendrya smiled. She handed the note to her sister. Bethany read it quickly, a huge smile gracing her features.

"We've done it!" she said grinning. "Oh Maker I thought we were going to have to do that forever. But we did it! We're officially in Kirkwall," she embraced her sister tightly. Ellendrya laughed gleefully.

There was a nagging at the back of her head though. Athenril was their source of coin. Without working for her, they would have to land something big unless they wanted to spend the rest of their days doing small jobs and remaining in Lowtown. But Ellendrya would let her family enjoy a few days of rest before going back to work. They had enough coin for that at least.

The next two days were relaxed. Ellendrya and Bethany spent time with their mother, chatting and taking walks around the bazaar. They family truly settled into Kirkwall, now confident they weren't going to get kicked out. As the days passed, Ellendrya could see that her sister realized what working under Athenril had done for them, and that they were on their own now.

"El? Do you have a minute?" Bethany approached her sister on the third day after their release.

"Bethany. I was just about to go out. Care to join me?" Bethany nodded and they headed out the door.

"What do you need?" Hawke prompted when Bethany didn't say anything.

"I was just thinking, the past year, we've managed with the coin we earned and we've had barely and trouble whatsoever with the templars. What are we going to do now? Athenril can't hide me anymore. And how are we meant to get coin?" She said worriedly. Hawke had already though about this, yet she didn't manage to come up with any solid answers.

"I've been thinking about it," she answered slowly. "There have to be some jobs around here. We'll have to search of course. I think if we can land a big one, we'll be set. At least for a little while. As for the templars, we do what we've always done. Lay low and do our best to not draw any attention. We'll manage some way, I'm sure of it," she smiled at her sister, reassuring her. "I was thinking about going to the Hanged Man tonight to see if I can find anything. I'll let you know what I find." Bethany only nodded, worry still prominent in her eyes.

That night, Ellendrya did as she said she would and headed out to the Hanged Man to see what there was to see. She normally didn't spend much time in the tavern, as she normally was too tired or simply didn't have the time. Upon entering the pub, it was mildly crowded, but not totally packed. Ellendrya chose a spot at a table in the corner of the room so that she would be able to see the entire room. Ordering a drink, Hawke settled down to wait.

She watched as a group of men meandered into the tavern, taking a seat at the large table in the middle of the room. They all spoke excitedly.

"I can't believe we got in! Granted we're just guards, but still!" a man with shaggy brown hair was saying.

"I know! We're goin' to be rich!" his friend exclaimed. This piqued Hawke's interest.

"That's if we all come out alive," a balding man said. "These are the deep roads we're talkin' about," he said darkly. The other two men became nervous.

"Well yeah," the brunette started, "but he hired us because we'll be able to fight 'em off. We'll be fine!" he laughed heartily, reassuring himself and his comrades.

"Bartrand is gon' have his hands full. How do you think he's gon' get the funding for all of this?"

"Who knows? It's not our problem to worry about the coin anyways. As long as I get my share afterwards."

Hawke memorized Bartrand and his coin problem before standing from her seat and meandering over to the men.

"Excuse me gentlemen," she said sweetly, "but do you think you could possibly tell me how to find Bartrand? I find I need to speak with him."

"You sweet thing? You wouldn't be thinkin' of joinin the expedition now would you?" the brunette looked her over, a gleam in his eye that made Hawke uncomfortable.

"I might be. It's no business of yours," she shrugged.

"A pretty lady like you shouldn't have to see all that darkness down there. Why don't you just go along and leave the fighting to us," he smiled at the rogue. Hawke rolled her eyes mentally.

"I assure you, I can take very good care of my self. But thank you for your concern," she smiled sweetly, annoyed as she was. The men continued to persist. Looking her over, the balding man of about 30 spoke.

"You'd be daft to go down there lass. Too dangerous," he said grimly.

"That's right," the brunette said. "So how 'bout you run back to the Blooming Rose an' maybe meet me there later," he winked. Hawke's irritation broke open as she drew her dagger and pointed the tip at the man's throat.

"How bout," she nearly growled, "you tell me where Bartrand is, or I bleed you until you tell me." The mans eyes widened in surprise. The balding man simply sat and watched with disinterest while the young mans friend reached for his blade.

"Don't," Hawke's eyes flicked dangerously to the mans hand on his blade.

"H-he's in Hightown," the brunette stuttered. "Just ask around, a-and someone'll direct you to him."

"See now? Was that so hard?" Hawk sheathed her blade. She turned to walk away, then paused and faced the young man. "One more thing."

"What…?" the man asked nervously. Clenching her fist, Hawke sent a punch square to his jaw, sending him sprawling backwards.

"For calling me a whore," she smiled menacingly before turning and striding out of the Hanged Man, the balding mans booming laughter following her out.

The next morning, Hawke gathered Bethany and set off for Hightown, thinking all the way how she would convince him to take Bethany and herself along. Once they got to Hightown, all Hawke had to do was as around, like the man said.

"Bartrand?" Hakwe asked as she walked up to a busy looking dwarf with the typical beard braids and sandy blond hair.

"Who's asking?" he grumbled, looking at the papers in his hands.

"Hawke. We heard about the expedition. You still letting people on?"

"No," he said bluntly, causing Hawke to be taken aback.

"What?" she blurted. Taking a moment to compose herself, she continued. "You can't only be taking a few guards into the deep roads. Do you know how many darkspawn are down there?"

"Yeah, in fact I do. Sod off human."

"You're gonna need more than that if you wanna come out alive, let alone rich," she persisted. "You could use us."

"No!" the dwarf grew frustrated. "Andraste's tits human! You know how many people want to hire on to this expedition?"

"But surely you'll need all the help you can-" Bethany began to interject, but was cut off.

"No! You're too late! Already done!" he said exasperatedly. "This is the type of venture that can make a man for life. I'm not about to take a chance hiring some random humans!"

"We've fought and killed darkspawn. How many of your hired men can say the same?" Hawke challenged.

"Get it line human," was his response. "Half of Kirkwall wants to be my best friend right now." Hawke clenched her jaw, refraining from saying something stupid. "You're looking for a way out of the slums right? You and every other Fereldan in this dump. Find another meal ticket," he said, aggravated as he turned and strode off. Hawke could only growl in frustration before turning to her sister, who had a look of panic in her eyes.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Bethany said hopelessly. "We've got nothing to stop the next person who tries to sell us out. The expedition was our last chance…" Retaining a demeanor of calm, Hawke responded.

"We've made a name for ourselves this past year," she told her sister softly. "We'll find something."

"We have to… We need status, coin, something we can hide behind. As long as we're just refugees, we're no one." Bethany sighed. "Maybe Gamlen knows someone who can talk to Bartrand for us…"

"Gamlen is the reason we've been here for a year," Hawke growled. Not that she wasn't grateful for getting into the city in the first place, it was just that Gamlen wasn't on Hawke's good side, to say the least.

"I know," Bethany sighed, "but he's all we've got. Maker save us… We might as well ask. Otherwise, I don't know what we'll do."

Hawke could only nod as they walked away from the merchant's guild, unending thoughts and ideas churning in her head. Deep in thought, it took her a second to realize someone had bumped into her, and another moment to realize that someone managed to cut her purse of her belt.

"Hey!" she exclaimed as she took off after the thief. Before she could get close, the boy darted around the corner, and proceeded to get pinned to the wall with what seemed like a crossbow bolt through his shoulder. Rounding the corner, she saw a dwarf returning his crossbow to his back. He had the typical build of a dwarf, but sported a clean-shaven face, which surprised Hawke and her sister.

"I once knew a guy who could take every coin out of your pockets by just smiling at you. But you? You don't have the style to work Hightown, let alone the merchants guild," the dwarf held out his hand expectantly. The young thief dropped the coin purse into his open palm. "Might want to find your self a new line of work," he said, giving the boy a solid punch, ripping the bolt out of his shoulder, and sending him on his way. "Off you go.

The dwarf approached Hawke and her sister, tossing the purse to Hawke when he was close enough. Hawke regarded the dwarf with interest.

"How do you do? Varric Tethras, at your service," the dwarf introduced himself, twirling the bolt he had just used through his fingers before returning it to its place on his belt.

"I apologize for Bartrand. He wouldn't know an opportunity if it hit him square in the jaw," He said, smiling in amusement.

"And you would?" Hawke regarded him with a mix of interest, surprise, and suspicion. She had learned not to trust anyone she didn't know anything about.

"I would! What my brother doesn't realize is that we need someone like you. He would never admit it either," Varric laughed. "He's too proud. I, however, am quite practical," he shrugged.

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

"Oh on the contrary. You've made quite a name for yourself over the past year. The Coterie has been squeezing smugglers out left and right, and the only group to survive owes it all to you. The name 'Hawke' is on many lips these days. Not bad for a Fereldan fresh off the boat!" he grinned at her.

"Your brother said he didn't need another guard," Hawke frowned at the dwarf.

"We don't need another hireling. We need a partner!" he said firmly. "The truth is, Bartrand has been pulling his beard out trying to fund this on his own, but he can't do it. Invest in the expedition. Fifty sovereigns and he can't refuse. Not with me there to vouch for you," he stated bluntly. Hawke thought it was a good idea, but fifty sovereigns was a lot of coin.

"It sounds interesting," she said slowly, "but if I had that kind of coin, I wouldn't need this job."

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

Hawke thought about this. Her goal was to get her family safely into Kirkwall, and now that she had accomplished that, she wanted them to be comfortable. A small, selfish part of her also just wanted to be able to get out of Gamlen's house. She hated having to rely on him even in the smallest way. If she could make this work, her family would be much better off for it.

"We work together, you and I," Varric interrupted her thought, "and before you know it, you'll have all the capital you need. What do you say?" Contemplating only a moment longer, Hawke smiled at the dwarf.

"It's not like I had anything better to do," she shrugged and grinned at him.

"Perfect!" he said, returning her smile. "Kirkwall is crawling with work. You put aside a bit of coin from each job, and you'll have the money in no time!"

"Maybe Aveline can find us some work," Bethany spoke up. "She's got her position in the city guard after all." Hawke nodded at her sister before turning back to Varric.

"We should speak privately when you get a chance. In the Hanged Man maybe. I'll be there when I'm not with you."

"Now, let's go see what trouble we can stir up," Varric grinned at the rogue. Hawke figured she was going to like this dwarf.

Thanks for reading! As always, comments and tips and all that are always appreciated! :)