Sorry for the late update. First I was busy, then I had writer's block and then mass effect occupied my brain. I hope to update more frequently from now.

Also, Carver - it occured to me that I hadn't mentioned either him or Bethany in my whole story, so I've decided to say that he simply died in the deep roads.

Anyway, happy reading!

Chapter 15 – All that remains

Aisha and Isabela immediately left the Hanged Man and followed Merrill. The elf was pacing and muttering to herself.

"This is where she was supposed to be. Why didn't she wait?"

"Merrill," Isabela tried to get her attention as they were running, "what has happened? Where is Hawke?"

"Gamlen came to our house and said that Leandra hadn't come like she said she would," Merrill replied without looking back as she started running, the others following her, "Marian went looking for her, but couldn't find her and now we think that the killer has her."

"What killer?" Aisha yelled back.

…

They followed Merrill down to the underground where they met up with Aveline, Hawke and Anders. Isabela had never seen Hawke so scared. Her eyes were big and wet and even though her movements were still made with percission, there was a slight trembling to each step. There was no mistake, Hawke was terrified and now that they had gone underground, she kept calling "mother" every few minutes. She had not even greeted the rivainis but smiled thankfully at Merrill who had quickly joined her lover's side.

After a little while they came to a big room that had two bokcases, a rug and a big portrait over a firewall. The group slowly approached the portrait.

"What... what is this?" Hawke asked, her voice shaky. Aveline sighed and then spoke up.

"The woman in the portrait looks like Leandra, doesn't she?"

"A shrine dedicated to a wife? A sister?" Anders' asked and turned to the others.

"I need to find her," Hawke said in a stern voice, "now!"

"I have a bad feeling about this," Isabela whispered to Aisha, "stay close, okay?"

Aisha nodded and swallowed back tears, praying that Hawke's mother would be okay. She hadn't spent much time with Leandra, but by what she had heard, the eldest Hawke was nothing but grace and kindness. Suddenly several rage demons rose from the ground, warranting everyone's attention, however with all the rage and fear that Hawke was carrying inside they were soon defeated and the group could move forward.

They went down a couple of stairs and around a corner. There was a man there, standing over a chair; when the group arrived with Hawke in front, he looked up.

"I was wondering when you'd show up, Leandra was so sure you'd come for her," he said.

"Where is she?" Hawke demanded and the man smiled cruelly.

"You will never understand my purpose," he said with force and took a few steps towards them, "your mother was chosen because she was special and now she is part of something... greater." He had kept walking and was now standing right in front of her. Merrill had cluthed Hawke's hand in order to provide some grounding and comfort, whereas Isabela had held out her arm and protectively tried to push Aisha behind her.

"Spare me the demented rambling," Hawke said threateningly, "where is she?!"

The man continued smiling as if Hawke had said something funny.

"But my dear girl," he said mockingly, "she's here. She is waiting for you. I have done the impossible. I have touched the face of the maker and lived."

Hawke just shook her head. The man is insane,she thought; but he had not finished talking.

"Do you know what the strongest force in the universe is?" He asked but did not wait for her to answer, "love. I pieced her together from memory. I found her eyes, her skin, her delicate fingers. And at last, her face... oh, this beautiful face."

The white-clad creature which had been sitting on the chair the whole time, stood up and turned slowly around; all while the man continued his insane discourse.

"I've searched far and wide to find you again, beloved and no force on this earth will part us."

The creature turned around, causing the group to gasp and Aisha actually let a scream leave her. What a horrid sight! It was a woman, clad in white and wearing a bridal veil. It was Leandra's face, but not her body and not her eyes. She staggered forward, an unholy abomination, a creature forged from the delirium and foolishness of one insane man. The man in question, wasted no time, conjuring a force field around himself and his creation and then calling forth walking skeletons, sloth and rage demons.

Hawke saw red, all she did was raise her staff, yell a war cry and before she knew it she was running towards that despicable man who did not deserve to call himself a human being and with a flash of pure force she knocked him to the ground and tore his head from between his shoulders. As the man died, most of the abominations and demons he had called simply disappeared back into the ground or walls and the few that were left were no match for the experienced fighters that stood by Hawke. After the last skeleton was put back to rest, the room grew silent as the group watched the creature with Leandra's face stagger towards Hawke.

"Mother!" Hawke cried and caught her as the creature fell to the ground; Hawke sat down and pulled the body close, with Leandra's head in her lap, "do something!" The upset mage yelled back to her companions. Merill and Anders shared a look. Eventually Merrill stepped closer.

"His magic was keeping her alive," the elf said, "there is nothing any of us can do."

Hawke ignored him and kept staring at her mother's face.

"I knew you would come," Leandra said and smiled.

"Don't move, mother," Hawke replied in a soft voice, "we'll find a way to..."

"Shh," Leandra interuppted her, "don't fret, my darling. That man would have kept me trapped in here. But now... I'm free. I get to see Bethany, Carver... and your father. But you'll be here alone."

"I'll be fine, mother," Hawke replied even though she sounded anything but fine. She didn't want her mother to worry.

"My little girl has become so strong," Leandra continued, "I love you. You've always made me so proud." Leandra gave her daughter one last smile and then she tilted her head backwards and simply died.

Nobody moved for a few minutes, they didn't know what to do. How to provide comfort when something so completely and utterly horrible had happened. Hawke clutched her mother's body and started sobbing and crying.

Anders eventually stepped forward, wanting to ease his friend's pain.

"I know there is nothing I can say to make it better, but you are lucky to have her as long as you did, when..." Isabela pulled him backwards.

"What is wrong with you, you insensitive goose," she whispered violently, "this is hardly the time to make her feel better. And especially not in your idiotic way."

She let go of the mage when she felt little hands grip her arms; it was Aisha, looking pale despite her dark skin tone and her eyes big and worried. Isabela pushed Anders away and instead put her arm around Aisha and pulled her close. Apparently the whole situation was very upsetting to her.

Merrill fell to Hawke's side and put her head on the mage's shoulder.

"Ir abelas, ma'vinan," she whispered, "Leandra's is in a better place now. You saved her my love. Now... we have to go."

It took both Aveline and Isabela to get Hawke to let go of the body and be pulled to her feet, she was crying, screaming; didn't want to go. But surely they made their way back to dark town, and then through low town, all the way to high town and Hawke's estate where Aveline closed to carried Hawke up the stairs and then into her bed. Merrill went with them, not wanting to leave her lover's side but the rest of the group waited awkwardly downstairs; Anders informing both Bodhan and Gamlen what had happened and then Isabela stopping Gamlen by force when he wanted to run up to talk to his niece.

Aisha was still trembling and had sat down in the corner on the floor, otherwise it felt like her legs were going to buckle under her. It had been a mage that had done that to Leandra and Aisha couldn't help but feel like a ticking bomb. Even Anders, who was genuinly a calm and gentle person, had been corrupted by a spirit of vengence... and then there were abominations. Maybe it was better to have mages locked up or even make them tranquil than to have these dangerous people running around freely. Aisha touched her mark of tranquility and shuddered. Maybe it would have been better for Isabela to just have left her tranquil.

"Ashia!" Isabela's voice woke Aisha up from her near delirium, "are you okay?" The pirate extended a hand for the girl to grab and Aisha took it and staggered to her feet. She however refused to meet Isabela's gaze. I could kill her, Aisha thought to herself, her strenght and speed doesn't match up to the horrid beast I have that is living inside of me. She felt nauseous and every time she closed her eyes all she saw was Leandra's face. She looked pleadingly at Isabela.

"Can we go home please?" She asked.

"If that is what you want," Isabela answered, "there doesn't seem to be much for us to do here anyhow." They said good bye to Anders who said he would stay for a while and then the women went back to the Hanged Man.

…

"What is up with you?" the pirate asked Aisha as the mage walked into their room and threw herself on the bed.

"We're all doomed, aren't we?" She whispered with tears glistening in her eyes.

"Not more now than we ever were," Isabela answered cheerfully and stretched her muscles.

Aisha sat up.

"Not us, Naishe," she snapped, "me and my... kin or whatever. Us. Mages. We should all be killed or be made tranquil."

Isabela sighed at the usage of her birth name but didn't mention it when her friend was clearly upset.

"Don't be stupid," she said instead, "you're not an abomination waiting to happen, you're stronger than that."

"How can you be so sure?" Aisha asked, "Even Anders is practically an abomination and is not in control all the time... and you saw what happened to Hawke's mom. We... are... dangerous."

"Sweet thing," Isabela said carefully, "it is not about being dangerous or not, everyone should be free. Not just the mages, nobody should have choices made for them just because of the way they were born."

Aisha didn't seem convinced so Isabela pressed on.

"It's not only mages that can turn into abominations," she said, "and I know that you know what I mean. It is not only mages that can let greed, jealousy or anger turn them into a monster or let their emotions get in control of them."

Aisha was still not convinced but her breathing returned to calm and she no longer felt like she was going to throw up. She wiped her tears and nodded at the pirate to show that she had been listening.

"Are you done, then?" Isabela said, sounding bored, "good, I need a drink." Then the pirate left the room.