Chapter 6 – The Mother and The daughter

Aisha was surprised at how quickly she learned to keep her emotions in check. Isabela continued taking her out to see in the little dingy almost every day and after just a few weeks Aisha started following Hawke and the group around. The mage had always had a flare for healing and ice spells and she turned out to be very helpful much to both Isabela's and Hawke's delight.

Aisha also had to relearn who Isabela was; Naishe had been a different person. The mage saw with surprise how Isabela got drunk, hit on men or women until she found someone to spend the night with. More than once Aisha had heard the sound of her tumble through the thin walls in the Hanged Man. The mage wasn't sure if she disliked it or not. It surprised her, made her slightly uncomfortable but intrigued her nonetheless. Isabela drank, thieved, slept around but she was also caring, loyal in her own way and she had a sense of fairness that was hard to argue with. Aisha had every sense of respect for the pirate rogue. Aisha had once upon a time shared many of these traits; she had once enjoyed drink, dirty jokes and the thrill of a good heist. The only thing she had never understood was Isabela's ability to sleep with almost anyone. Apart from Isabela, Aisha had never slept with anyone willingly.

…

The gang had been celebrating a job well done in the tavern; even Aisha had enjoyed a drink. But the Hanged Man had gotten too rowdy even for Hawke and her party and with the warm summer night beckoning outside they had gone out for a walk together. Hawke was walking in the front with an arm around Merrill's waist, and Aisha was walking next to the couple. Behind them Isabela was talking with Anders and Aisha was enjoying listening to their silly banter. Anders had struck up a conversation asking the if she really had no opinion on the, in his opinion, plight of the mages, especially because of the Aisha –situation. Aisha had to put her hand over her mouth not to laugh out loud when Isabela simply replied:

"No, I'm afraid I'm really this shallow."

Anders seemed distraught at her devil-may-care answer. Aisha however, doubted that Anders would be so surprised about Isabela's attitude if he had known how she and Aisha had grown up. Now, Aisha wasn't entirely sure what Isabela's life had been like during the years Aisha had spent as a tranquil but she guessed that it hadn't exactly been easy on the pirate.

Hawke suddenly asked for her attention.

"So," Hawke said, "you are still a mystery to us you know. Who are you? How do you know Isabela?"

Aisha giggled, a little bit tipsy from the previous drinking; she threw a glance at the pirate who was walking behind them. To the mage's absolute delight her pirate friend winked at her. Aisha smiled and then she turned to Hawke and uttered the words that caused the entire party to halt.

"Oh, Isabela is my mother."

"What?"

Everyone stopped and stared opened mouth at the girl who was grinning like an idiot.

"Andraste's arse," Isabela swore under her breath, "Hawke, I am not her bloody mother. I just… I was married to her father. I am… well, I guess I am her step-mother if you want to use that term."

"You were married?" Hawke asked and raised an eyebrow, "for some reason I have a hard time picturing that."

For the first time Aisha found that being a former tranquil didn't just put any negative emotions in overdrive but also the positive ones. She was absolutely giddy and she just wanted to laugh.

"My father bought her," Aisha giggled, "he bought her, brought her home and told me that she was my new mother. And then a few years later, he died but not before he managed to sell me to another man who then sells me to some bloody mages who made me a tranquil." She now laughed so that the tears sprayed from her eyes. Isabela was standing next to her looking furious; the mage didn't even know why she found it so funny. It wasn't funny. It had never been funny. But still in this moment, Aisha had to laugh. She had to laugh at their stupid, pathetic, sad lives.

Everyone around them was feeling uncomfortable, except Anders who understood that this was just another side-effect. Hawke looked questioningly at Isabela, wondering what to do with the newly revealed information.

To everyone's surprise Anders was the one who eventually spoke.

"You rescued your step-daughter. I always knew you had a heart of gold. You are not nearly as selfish as you pretend."

Isabela chuckled at that and went over to her still hysterically laughing friend.

"Shhh," she said and tried to hug her but the laughing was shaking Aisha so badly that she was hard to get a grip on, "calm down, sweetness, it is fine."

Aisha's laughing turned to tears and she gratefully let Isabela hold her. Eventually her violent sobbing subsided and she quickly removed herself from the pirate's embrace.

"Sorry," she whispered to Isabela, so low so that nobody else could hear her.

Isabela nodded quickly and then the party resumed walking. Trying to forget what just happened. Hawke just threw a look at Isabela and the pirate nodded, she would tell the whole story eventually.

Instead of just blindly walking around with no goal, they started going home one by one. Hawke stopped by her mansion and subtly asked if Merrill wanted to stay the night. Anders quickly excused himself when they were near dark-town. Eventually it was just Varric, Isabela and Aisha left.

"Varric, make sure she gets home," Isabela said to the dwarf, not even giving Aisha a look.

"Why, where are you going?" Aisha said worryingly, but the pirate just ignored her.

"That is nothing you have to worry your sweet little head with," Isabela said, still not looking at her and then she took off into the night leaving Aisha alone with Varric.

"Are you okay, girlie?" Varric asked the girl who was still standing and looking in the direction that Isabela had left.

"Where is she going?"

"Do you want the truth?" Varric was still not sure what kind of relationship and background the mage and the pirate had had but the dwarf had his suspicions. The girl nodded but Varric could almost not see her it was so dark by now.

"She probably went to the Blooming Rose," Varric said matter-of-factly, "you know what kind of establishment that is?"

"Yes," Aisha said darkly and turned around facing Varric again, "fine, let's go."

As they were taking the long stairs back to low town Aisha felt a familiar sting in her heart. It had been years since she had felt it last time but for some reason it had always been circumstances involving Isabela that brought out such emotions from the her. The last time it had also involved a notorious elf called Zevran.

Aisha was feeling jealous.