41
Isabela's eyes shot open at the sound of a man screaming. Velasco had been thrown across the room and pinned to the wooden beam that he had held Isabela against only moments earlier. He screamed in agony and clawed at his own eyes, as blood started pouring from his ears and nose.
Hawke made her way down the stairs, flanked by Aveline and Varric. Her eyes were a blaze of rage as she held the would-be -rapist in the throes of a powerful torture spell.
"Ugh, put an end to it, Hawke" Aveline grimaced, finding the screams of Velasco distasteful.
Isabela watched in tremendous satisfaction as Velasco went up in flames. He flailed and screamed and dropped to the ground. The smell of his searing flesh was repulsive. He died quickly, but in unimaginable pain.
"Take your filthy hands off of her! Lay down your swords, and I may let you leave here with your lives" Hawke said to the two guards in a commanding voice that Isabela had never heard before.
They both let Isabela go and backed up, unclipping their sword belts and dropping them to the ground. Hawke approached them, twirling her staff and looking them both up and down. She came to a stop in front of them, and in one single, fluid motion, she slashed the scythe at the end of her staff across both their necks, cleanly taking their heads off.
"Hawke! Was that necessary? They had dropped their blades!" Aveline yelled.
"Stand down, Aveline. Don't question me. You saw what we just walked in on" Hawke shot back.
"I would've seen them brought to justice. Kirkwall's justice, not yours!"
Hawke rested her furious gaze upon Aveline. "Don't you ever speak to me of Kirkwall's justice!" The rest remained unsaid, as the Guard-Captain flushed and fumed silently.
"Just out of curiosity, if we weren't here, how long would that torture curse have gone on for?" Varric asked quietly.
Hawke's face darkened. "Some people don't deserve a quick death."
"Kid… this has got to stop. You're getting worse…" Varric added gently.
"There are three less rapists in the world, and I'll hear no more on it. Now can you both be quiet and face the wall while I look after our friend?!" Hawke instructed, kneeling by Isabela, who had begun to shake uncontrollably.
Hawke helped Isabela to her feet, leading her, half naked, to the back room. She sat her down on a crate.
"Are you okay?" she whispered, her face etched with concern.
Isabela could only manage a nod.
"Was I… too late?" Hawke asked, cringing away from the answer.
"No, you arrived just in time…" Isabela whispered.
Relief flooded the mage's face. "Thank the Maker! I don't know how I would've lived with myself if they…" she trailed off, unable to finish the sentence.
"I didn't think you'd come. The things you said, at The Rose, they were all true…"
"Well, you did tell me to make it convincing."
"Hearing it from your mouth, Hawke… I thought you'd finally turned your back on me…" Isabela's voice came out small and weak, and she kept her eyes trained on her feet.
Hawke cupped Isabela's chin in her hand, tilting her face up, and looking her deeply in the eyes. "Never."
Isabela leaned forward, putting her head on her former lover's chest, allowing Hawke to wrap her arms around her and gently pat her hair. They stayed like that for a long moment, until Isabela had the strength to face Hawke again.
"Now let me look at you" Hawke said, looking Isabela up and down appraisingly, noting the split lip from Velasco's slap. "Hold still" she instructed. She reached her hand up to Isabela's face, resting her palm softly on her cheek. Hawke gently drew her thumb across Isabela's busted bottom lip, and the area was overcome by an unnatural warmth. The pain stopped suddenly, and Hawke withdrew her hand.
"You can heal now?" Isabela asked, touching her finger to the smooth skin that had been a bleeding wound just a moment earlier.
"Yes. Anders taught me. After… the battle, I took an interest in the skill. It's been very useful," she answered as she sat down beside Isabela and started unlacing her boots.
"What were you doing to Velasco in there?" Isabela asked, her eyes transfixed as Hawke's fingers quickly unthreaded the laces.
Hawke cleared her throat. "I… boiled the blood in his brain."
"I thought you hated dark magic?" Isabela ventured, glancing quickly at Hawke's face.
Hawke's finger movements slowed. "I… was very idealistic when you used to know me. Dark magic has a lot of uses."
"Does it? I'm not complaining, that bastard deserved it, but - "
Hawke inclined her head awkwardly. "I... was in a bad place. I hated myself, I hated my life, and I especially hated my magic. A friend stepped in, and suggested I find a way to channel my negativity. I went and stayed with the Dalish elves for a while, and the Keeper taught me some of their ancient magics. There are no demons involved, and I'm in control of it. Don't be afraid of me."
Isabela touched Hawke's arm. "I'm not afraid of you."
Hawke stood up, her two bootlaces loose in her hands. "Good. Now I'm going to need you to hold the fabric together and keep your girls in place while I fix your top."
Isabela nodded, and brought the two halves of her tunic together, covering the breasts that she had almost forgotten were exposed. Hawke threaded her boot laces through the loops of Isabela's tunic, bringing the material back together.
Hawke stepped back and admired her work. "It's not the best job, but it will get you home. I'll have some new tunics made for you by the merchant who makes my robes, if you'd like?"
"What about your boots?" Isabela asked.
"Better for me to be bare footed, than you to be bare breasted."
Isabela gave an involuntary smile. "Ah, good point."
Hawke put a gentle hand on the side of Isabela's cheek. "I… want to apologise for what happened last night. I was too rough, and I didn't even ask permission first…"
Isabela put a hand over Hawke's. "Do you always need a written invitation when a woman opens her mouth and legs for you?"
Hawke shook her head slowly. "I suppose not. But after what just happened… I don't know. I feel a bit sick, actually."
"You're not seriously comparing yourself to Velasco are you? He would have forced himself on me, and I would've fought him for every second of it. I enjoyed last night with you."
She stared into the face of her former lover. Hawke looked as soft and as loving as she had the last day that she'd spent at the Hanged Man with Isabela.
"I… enjoyed it too. Maybe there are things we still need to discuss, later?"
Isabela nodded. "I think there are."
Hawke hesitated, running her thumb over Isabela's cheek. Then she removed her hand, and nodded. "Let's go and join Aveline and Varric. We need to wait for our guest of honour."
Hawke was pacing the ground, twirling her staff. Isabela had never seen her look so agitated. The four companions had their eyes drawn to the main door of the warehouse as it swung open, and watched as Castillion and twenty of his guards entered. The warehouse was suddenly very crowded, with Isabela and her friends hopelessly outnumbered.
Castillion stood in front of the four companions, a look of amusement on his face. "Lady Hawke has double crossed me. How disappointing…" he mused.
Hawke's entire body tensed as she took place in front of Isabela.
"Wait Hawke, let me talk…" Isabela said softly. Hawke gritted her teeth and stood aside.
Isabela stood up straight and faced him. "Castillion, I have a deal for you."
"Isabela, it's been a while. You certainly travel in impressive, and lovely, company," he said, his eyes traveling up and down Hawke, "The Champion of Kirkwall as a personal bodyguard. You've done well."
"I can't say the same about the company you keep, but that has been remedied. Very painfully," Hawke cut in, gesturing to the charred corpse on the ground a few feet away.
"Poor Velasco, a good lieutenant, but, replaceable. What is this deal of yours, Isabela? What could you possibly have that I would want?" Castillion looked as smug as ever.
Hawke stepped between them and flared a fireball in her hands. "There will be no deals."
Castillion chuckled. "Ah Isabela, you never change. I did wonder why your mage friend stood against the Arishok for you, but now I see. Fereldans are such a funny people, so protective and loyal, especially once they've been bedded. I would pay good coin to know if she is this feisty between the sheets."
Hawke threw the fireball at his feet, forcing him to take a few steps back. "Your coin would be wasted. I would burn your tiny worm to ash before you'd gotten within ten feet of me."
Isabela stepped forward. "There is no need for worm burning, Hawke. We can solve this peacefully. Castillion, did you come here in that Antivan frigate?"
He nodded stiffly.
Isabela felt a rush. "I want that ship. Hawke single handedly stopped the Qunari army, imagine what she'll do to you. You give me your ship, and I won't let her kill you. You can walk away with your life. Take it, or leave it."
Hawke hissed air out through her teeth and rolled her hands into fists beside Isabela. "No! Castillion dies today!" she announced, shooting a huge bolt of electricity from her hand.
Castillion's body jolted wildly as the bolts lit him up from the inside out. He dropped to the ground, and his body shuddered a few times before becoming a still, smoking heap. Hawke was quick, and her powers had grown more than Isabela had realised. Every guard in the room was dead or dying within a few seconds.
Hawke whirled around on Isabela. If looks could kill, Isabela would have just taken her last breath of life. "You will never change. We risked our lives to get rid of him for you, and you would've thrown it all away? For a boat?"
"It's not a boat, Hawke, it's a world class ship, and now by the code of the sea, I can't have it" Isabela said hotly.
"The code of the sea, don't make me laugh. You're a criminal, Isabela, you live by your own code, just as you always have."
"Calm down, this wasn't personal."
The anger and bitterness were back in Hawke's eyes. "It wasn't personal?! Have you ever seen me as anything other than an object to be used by you? Need an Arishok killed? Just ask Hawke. Need to relieve a slaver of his ship? Hawke will help you with that. Need an orgasm? Just get on your back, Hawke will make it happen!"
"Umm... I think we might just wait outside" Varric said awkwardly as he and Aveline headed for the door.
"It wasn't like that" Isabela said through gritted teeth.
"It was exactly like that. And I allowed it, because I... ugh! Everybody warned me about you, but I refused to believe it. Maker forgive me, I wasn't even talking to my mother the day she died, because we had a fight about you. I thought I'd learned my lesson. And yet here I am, three years later, and you're still playing me like a fiddle. Fuck you, Isabela!"
Isabela felt herself soften. "I'm not trying to play you, Hawke. And… I'm sorry, about your mother. I know she didn't approve."
Hawke threw her hands up in the air. "Castillion is dead, one more problem of yours that I've dealt with. I'm done with you, I won't be used anymore. Take the ship, Isabela. Do what you will. I don't care anymore."