26
As the last Qunari's frozen body shattered, Hawke stepped over the shards of bone and ice, and got within an inch of Isabela's face.
"Okay Isabela, I need answers, right now" Hawke said, boiling anger brimming just beneath the surface.
"Hawke… the relic belongs to the Qunari, and there's a small chance they want it back..."
Hawke's eyes narrowed. "How long have you known what the relic was?"
"Does it matter?" Isabela scrambled.
Hawke crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "Yes."
Isabela sighed and hung her head. "I've… I've always known. I stole it from them. The reason that I'm here, the reason that the Qunari are here… We all got shipwrecked when they were chasing me down."
Hawke could barely contain her rage. "You knew all along?! They've been stuck here for four years, because of you! How could you?! How could you not trust me with this?!"
"I'm sorry. I should have trusted you. I just… I didn't know you, at first. And then, I had waited too long, and, had gotten in too deep. It was just too awkward to bring up."
"Awkward?! Oh, Maker forbid you feel awkward!" Hawke put her hands on top of her head and took a few deep, steadying breaths. "Okay. It's okay. We go in there, we kill every magister in the building. We get the tome, return it the Qunari, they leave Kirkwall, we avoid a war. Everybody wins."
Isabela's eyes widened. "What? Everybody wins except for me you mean! I need that tome, Hawke. It's the only thing that's going to stop Castillion from feeding me to the sharks!"
Hawke's momentary calm faded. "FUCK CASTILLION! And fuck you! You're a selfish child, Isabela! After everything I've done, everything we shared…" she stopped, and Isabela flinched as Hawke threw her fist into the wall behind her. Hawke winced with pain and regret as she cradled her newly broken knuckles. Through gritted teeth, she said "Isabela, Castillion will not have you. Point me at him, and he will die. But this, getting the Qunari out of Kirkwall, this is more important right now. You made the mistake of not trusting me before, so trust me now. Nobody will hurt you."
Isabela rolled her eyes. "I should've known you would side with them. Nobody is ever on my side. I can't believe you're... Ugh! Fine, I'll return it straight to the Qunari once we get it."
She trudged inside the building behind Hawke and Fenris, fuming silently. They ducked behind some crates, and heard the start of a confrontation begin.
"The Tome of Koslun will not fall into Tevinter hands!" boomed a Qunari's voice, from the upper level.
The sounds of blades clashing and spells being cast took over the warehouse. Fenris went to stand up, and Hawke dragged him back down under cover.
"Stay here. Let them take each other out. When the fighting's done, we'll mop up the survivors and take the tome" Hawke whispered.
Isabela and Fenris both nodded in agreement.
Another deep Qunari voice boomed. "You! Merchant! Hand over the tome now, and your life will be spared!"
Isabela hazarded a peek over the crate, and saw Wall Eyed Sam being confronted by two hulking Qunaris. He froze in position for a moment, before turning on his heel and running for the door behind them.
"Shit…" Hawke hissed as she got ready to fight.
Fenris and Hawke set upon the two chasing Qunaris. How the fight went, Isabela would never know. Her eyes locked on Wall Eyed Sam and she chased him out the door.
"ISABELA!" Hawke's voice rang out after her, but she kept going.
Sam wasn't particularly quick, and he was weighed down by the tome, so she caught him almost the second they entered the alley. She drew a blade and cut his throat in a quick motion, and he dropped to the ground. "Sorry Sam…" she said quietly, rifling through his pockets and retrieving a pouch of coins and a small quill. She opened the tome and ripped a square of paper off the first page, which was blank. Knowing that she didn't have much time, she quickly scribbled the final words she would ever get to say to Hawke.
Dear Hawke,
I have the relic, and I am gone. I've lost too much over this blighted thing to let it go again. I know it would be noble to return the relic to the Qunari, but that would require a better soul than I possess.
For what it's worth, I'm sorry I lied to you again.
Isabela
She left the note on Wall Eyed Sam's chest. Hopefully Hawke would see it on her way out. If she gets out. Isabela hesitated in the street, paralysed by indecision. She could hear the fighting inside the building. Hawke was in there. She could be getting hurt. She could be getting killed. She could be dead already, no use throwing my life away, Isabela reasoned.
And so she fled.
She made it to the Docks quickly, keeping to the shadows, especially around the Qunari compound. If she'd had a shred of honour, she would have marched in there and given them their book back, but that was not Isabela. This was who she really was. A survivalist. Self-serving. Free. There was nobody to hold her back now.
There was a nearby ship that looked like it was loading up. She could attempt to sneak aboard and stowaway until she was safely away from Kirkwall, but the enormous book she carried severely limited her abilities of stealth, so she went for the direct approach.
She walked up to the most senior looking sailor. "I'd like a word with your captain, please" she said, ignoring the up and down stairs she was getting from the crew.
"Aye, right away, Miss" the sailor replied in the Fereldan accent that Isabela was now so familiar with. He headed up the gangplank and onto the ship.
Ferelden. That will do. I can stay at my old room in the Pearl, and have word sent to Castillion within the fortnight. Clean air, friendly people, pretty scenery. And the Qunari influence is minimal.
A few minutes later, a middle aged man made his way down onto the docks to meet Isabela. He had greying, brown hair and a matching beard. His face was deeply lined from years of sunburn. He was missing his two front teeth, and his nose was off-centre from an old break.
His eyes devoured Isabela hungrily, and for the first time, maybe ever, she felt uncomfortable under the gaze of a man. "So… you're looking for passage from Kirkwall? We could manage that, aye, for the right price."
Isabela threw him the coin purse that she'd retrieved from Wall Eyed Sam, keeping her own personal purse stored safely inside her boot. "This is all I have. But, I'm familiar with boats, and I can be as much help as any crewman on this ship. I'll earn my way."
He counted up the coins, and paused, pretending to think. "I just don't think this will be enough, lass. Ferelden is a fortnight's sail away, and it's going to cost me a fortune to feed an extra person. I think you'll have to sweeten the deal…"
Isabela rolled her eyes. She'd seen this coming. "What do you want?!" she demanded impatiently. Every moment she spent out here, exposed, bartering with this fool, was another moment that the Qunari could find her.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I suppose I could offset the cost, if you joined me in my cabin every night…"
Isabela felt a wave of revulsion sweep over her. "And I suppose you would demand the same service from me if I was a man looking for passage?!"
He broke into a big, toothless grin. "No, I'd leave you here at the mercy of whoever it is you're running from. So, do we have a deal?"
"Ugh, here" she said, reaching into her boot and throwing him her personal coin purse. She'd made some questionable bedroom decisions when she'd had mead-goggles on, but sharing a bed with this man for half a month was too much to ask.
The captain counted the second coin purse and nodded his head. He stepped aside and let Isabela board.
She found a quiet spot at the bow of the ship, and sat down. She let the cool night air fill her lungs, and she smiled at the smell of the sea. This is where she belonged. Not by the side of some kindly, young, mage, with her soft hands and tender kisses. Isabela scolded herself. How easily she had let herself fall into complacency, in the arms of a pretty girl.
Never again, Isabela vowed to herself, love is NOT for me.