Chapter Twenty-One
Walking into the heat of his mansion, Fenris' broadsword slipped from his shoulder, clattering to the floor, as he shook the freshly fallen snowflakes from his white hair and leather armour. Gods it was nice to be home. After spending three nights, four days and five hours –but who's counting?- Alone on Sundermount, he'd never been happier to see Kirkwall's gates come into view. He'd also been thankful for the cover of darkness. Though the nights were near freezing, -especially on the outskirts of the city, where there was no foliage to cover from the wind- Fenris had decided to rough it, unable to wait any longer than he had to, to be home once the city had come into sight. Much to his pleasure, getting back to his commandeered mansion in Hightown had been relatively easy, the Templars all hiding indoors from the blizzard that raged outside.
He'd followed a Templar Regiment to Sundermount, curious as to why they'd decided to take up residence so far out of the city, on a mountain that had been completely abandoned since the Dalish had moved on more than a year ago. Lyrium was the short of it, but he also suspected the men and women he'd followed were deserters of their order. If they were, as he suspected, Marian could use that… Could use them for the cause… Shaking his head in disbelief, Fenris smiled to himself. Never in all his life had he thought he'd further a mage rebellion. Nor had he ever suspected that he'd further the cause on his own accord, no orders and no payment needed. Yet, he'd spent countless nights, in the middle of nowhere, freezing cold, alone and with little food, to do just that… further more, he'd done it happily…
He'd need to speak with Marian tonight. Perhaps first, he'd warm himself by the fire, get some feeling back into his toes, and then trek to The Rose. Fenris shook with the thought of leaving his home again so soon. In regular, non-wartime cases the walk from his Hightown mansion, to The Rose was five minutes at worst, but with all the enemy soldiers and undercover snitches roaming about, the walk took an half an hour at best, slipping through alleyways and shadows to avoid detection was at this point second nature.
By the Gods, all he wanted now was a glass of wine, his bed and Orana…"Aura?" Fenris called out, then waited for the sweet fluttering of her voice, his ears twitching as he waited with excitement. His blood chilled slightly when only his voice echoed back. Something's wrong. He couldn't say why his instinct whispered warnings… Years of needing to be ready for anything, had perhaps groomed him for the worst, but this wasn't simple paranoia, he could feel it in his bones. Keeping his steps light, Fenris moved through his home. From one room to the next, he searched, turning up nothing.
Coming back to the Great hall, Fenris stood at the bottom of the winding, double staircase, leading to the upper level, his room and the lounge were the only rooms up there… His quarters! The two places he felt most comfortable had become threatening. That thought alone had his markings humming with his anger. Grabbing his broadsword off the floor, Fenris bounded up the stairs, less ninja, more bull, taking it two steps at a time. The freshly sharpened sword hissed against the smooth marble staircase as it trailed behind him. Swinging it to the ready Fenris launched himself onto the landing. He hit the wooden door to the lounge so hard the door splintered under the force of his lyrium tattoos.
The blood-curdling scream that he was met with nearly toppled him over. Instantly Fenris dropped his sword, raising his palms flat over his ears. He hit the ground; knees meeting stone, the light of his markings ebbed, leaving only the orange glow of the hearth.
"Shhh, girl, hush now." Gabriel Vael approached from the shadows, laying a hand on the little girls shoulder, her shouts calming down to sniffs.
"Wha-" Fenris tried, rubbing his ears as he took in the room fully. Nova Stood in the center of the floor her eyes wide, she was as still as a statue, her doll fallen on the floor beside her, likely she'd dropped it in her fright. Dallas, the youngest Vael prince, stood in a corner of the room his eyes suspicious of Fenris, fearful… He'd scared the children. Fenris sighed and lifted his gaze to Gabriel's. "What are you doing here Vael? And why is Marian Hawke's little lamb here? Where is Marian? Did Orana let you in?" As the barrage of questions came out Fenris became more and more on edge, the feeling of a threat hadn't faded, hadn't even wavered. And as Gabriel moved to the plush couch in front of the hearth Fenris knew his night wasn't near to over. "What has happened?" he whispered, pushing himself from the floor to move to the girl still standing in the center of the lounge. Scooping up her doll he handed it to her, a silent apology for alarming her so.
"It's Mari. She's been taken captive by the Templars." Gabriel was tired, physically, mentally, exhausted, anyone with eyes and ears could see it, his face sunken in, his skin too pale, even his bronzed mane seemed to have collected specks of more silvery strands.
"How?" Fenris growled. The look in Gabriel's eyes sent a shiver of fear through him, the turquoise orbs filled with… Sympathy. Gabriel Vael wasn't a sympathetic man.
"Orana… Orana sold us out." Vael's voice cracked.
"No-" Fenris hissed. Backing away from Nova as the little girl shook her head 'yes' rapidly.
"I saw it myself uncle Fen!" The girl pitched in.
"That's impossible… Why?" Desperate, Fenris searched the faces in the room each more telling than the next, each assuring him this news was true… but why! "I have to talk to Orana."
"If ye' can locate her, she's all yers'. We've been searching fer' days, without luck. Ah' am nate' here tae' be the bearer o' bad news though. Ah' am here because we're getting' Marian back an' Ah' need yer' help. Buck up man, Marian needs us, we cannae' let her down."
He couldn't say how, but Fenris knew it was true, every word. If he were honest he'd sensed a tension between Marian and Orana for a long time, but never, NEVER did he expect Orana to turn coat. Icing his emotions, Fenris looked to Gabriel. "You're right. I'll deal with my…" He hesitated, "problem, but only after Marian is safe, I owe her that much." Gods as his witness, Fenris would deal with his 'problem' Orana would lose her heart, she'd taken his after all, no excuse in the world would save hers.
7-7-7
On the other side of the cell door Sebastian was already standing tensed and waiting, drawn by the sound of Vilkas' footfalls long before his call. Quickly he mentally tallied the short list of people whom would visit him. Cullen? Unlikely… One of the Chantry mothers? His trial hadn't started; they certainly wouldn't show until it was time for his last rights…. One of his men perhaps? There could be some loyal enough to dare visit him here. Or maybe the old warden was simply toying with him… Though, with how cruel the old man was, Sebastian assumed he wouldn't be clever enough to make such an announcement from sadistic spite alone. If he said there was a visitor than there was a visitor. Sebastian squared his shoulders as best he could to meet him.
But the visitor wasn't a him at all.
"Merry Solstice, Papa," said Nova, her voice barely higher than a whisper as she hung back in the doorway. "I came to see how you were doing, and to bring you supper."
Filled with shame, Sebastian could see how battered and awful he must look from the expression on his child's face. He had never wanted her to see him like this; he didn't want to see her in a place like this at all. "Happy Solstice to you, too, sweet dove," he responded softly, willing to give the world for them to have met in another place. "How is your mother?"
He saw the pain register across his daughter's pretty eyes as she shook her head, and cursed himself for having brought it both to Nova and to Marian, too, wherever she was. When Cullen told him Marian was a prisoner beneath her own roof, he'd prayed that she was only under house arrest, that she'd been confined, but was otherwise unharmed, and able to see Nova and have the comforts of her own rooms. One look at his daughter's face, and he realized how much in vain those hopes had been.
"I am with friends who care for me," said Nova, with a stiffness that convinced Sebastian she spoke from memory, a line practiced over and over and over until she had it. "I am well, as you can see." She in turn could see that he was not, her gaze shifting inevitably from the irons to the bruises and cuts that marked his face. But as mangled, as he must look, she still came toward him, tipping her face up to be able to kiss his cheek. With mingled sorrow and tenderness, he kissed her in return, the chains that joined his wrists making it impossible to embrace her the way he wished.
She took a step back and held the doll up to him. "You must certainly kiss Lady, too," she insisted. "She's missed you, you know."
Sebastian stared down at the doll's irksome face, wondering what in the Black Divine his daughter saw in the ragged doll. Nevertheless, Sebastian dutifully reached for Lady to lift her to his lips, looping his linked wrists around the doll in a way he hadn't been able to with Nova.
Was it the weight of his chains alone that made the doll feel so heavy? He frowned a little, his fingers spreading to support Lady's weight, and as he did he felt something firm under the satin skirts, bulky at one end then tapering off into a point… A dagger?! Maker! He slid his fingers over Lady's stuffed back, feeling the weapon tucked snug there, trying to keep his face masked.
"Lady likes you Pa," said Nova, her face even more innocent as she smiled for the first time. "She always has."
Suddenly her face twisted with shock as she clutched at her pocket, and she looked fearfully to Sebastian's watchman. "Oh, Mr. Vilkas!" she gasped. "I had another sovereign for you, sir, and now it's gone! I know I had it just a moment ago, it must have fallen in the straw, here!" She dropped to her knees, frantically running her hands through the straw to look for the missing currency. With a muttered oath, Vilkas crouched down beside her, holding the lantern over the straw.
"Calm yourself, girl," he said as he bent low to help her search, greed barely masquerading as concern. "Gold pieces don't just go missing." For an instant Nova's gaze, eager and excited, met Sebastian's over the jailer's head, just long enough for Sebastian to realize the lost money was for his benefit. His daughter, he thought with a surge of pride, his brave, clever, little lass, had done this for him.
Swiftly he dropped the doll and the dagger, wrapped the iron chain taut around one wrist, and with the other heavy cuff struck the back of Vilkas' head as hard as he could. With a startled grunt, the watchman toppled over into the straw and lay still. Nova stared wide-eyed at Vilkas' lifeless body.
"Is he dead?" She whispered, her voice saddened.
"No, Sweet, but he'll wish he was when he wakes up," said Sebastian as he searched the watchman's belt. "I'll need your help again here, my sweet. One of these little keys should open the irons, but we'll have to keep trying until we find the right one. Hurry now, as fast as you can!"
Nova scrambled closer as he held the lock steady for her to begin testing the keys. "You didn't use the dagger."
"Didn't need to," he said simply, his thoughts already racing ahead. "But most likely I will before we're clear from here. I can't begin to thank Lady enough."
She glanced up without lifting her chin and smiled shyly, so much like her mother that Sebastian caught his breath. "I have another dagger in my pocket. And I saw a bow, with arrows on my way in, just in the other room! Lady wanted to help."
"Well Lady can help as much as she pleases from here on out."
"It's not working… none of the keys are working!" Nova whispered her words tinged with worry.
"Just keep trying little lass." Sebastian soothed, though he felt and understood her panic. Anyone could come at any time and all this would be for naught!
"Oh, blast these cursed cuffs." The little girl suddenly shrieked tossing the key ring to the floor, her eyes swirling different colors.
"Nova, you have to kee-" but before Sebastian could convince his daughter to keep trying she had called magic into her palms, laying her hands about the old cuffs. Quickly they began to freeze, colder and colder, freezing Sebastian's wrists to an almost unbearable level of pain, but he didn't complain not once, instead he sat stunned, staring admiringly at his daughter, reveling in her cleverness as the cuffs turned brittle. Sebastian found himself both impressed and surprised with his daughter's prowess. Clearly she'd been trained well, her abilities rivaling that of much older circle mages. "Shield your face, lass." Sebastian commanded, the little girl obliging as he smashed the icy cuffs against the ground, the iron splintering into a million pieces. Sebastian shook his hands, rubbing his wrists where the cuffs had chaffed the skin raw. With his hands free, Sebastian picked up the key ring, relieved when the second key he tried clicked the lock on the irons around his ankles. Swiftly Sebastian rolled Vilkas over and clasped the irons around his wrists, pinning the watchman's hands around his back before he used the unconscious man's own handkerchief to gag him, as well. Next he had Nova grab him the bow and arrows she'd seen. The girl scampered off, quickly coming back with a rickety, poor excuse of a bow, it's string limp like cooked spaghetti noodles… It would have to do he thought, slinging it over his shoulder as well as the arrow sheath.
"How'd you know freezing my restraints would work?" Sebastian questioned, he knew there really wasn't time, but his curiosity couldn't be helped. He knew there was a better place and time, but what if that time didn't come? Anything could happen. He looked down at his daughter, her eerie swirling eyes staring up into his turquoise orbs. She was clearly trying to decide if she'd answer him or not, if she'd trust him or not, and that thought had Sebastian holding his breath, because he wanted more than anything in the world, for this little lass, his daughter to trust him.
"A voice told me to try it," she said in a rush. "Sometimes, when I don't know what to do and I'm scared, a voice will tell me… Will guide me."
"A voice?" Sebastian asked, searching her face.
"Yes, Mama calls it my 'instinct'… My guardian."
His order would call it a demon… An abomination, but she wasn't an abomination his daughter, nor was Marian, and with a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach Sebastian couldn't help but wonder how many mages with the same 'instinct' had been made tranquil at his command. There were true abominations, he'd seen them personally, mages possessed by very real demons, but Marian and Nova had no demons, their instinct was from birth, but in the circle they'd both be made tranquil just the same. Maker! A wave of nausea washed over him, what had he done?
Collecting himself, Sebastian glanced at his daughter once more. "I'd say we're done here, Nova." He said quietly, holding out a hand to the young lass. "Best we leave before anyone notices Vilkas is gone."
"But what about Mama?" cried Nova. "We can't leave without her!"
Sebastian sighed. "She's not here, sweet. Do you honestly believe if she were here, I'd leave without her?"
"Then where is she?" asked Nova, her voice squeaking upward, and very close to tears. "Dallas' father said she was here in the gallows, too."
"Well, he's wrong, then." Sebastian should have known his brother was behind this escape. Freeing an important prisoner was exactly the sort of thing Gabriel and his men had been doing to the Templars since they'd landed in Kirkwall. This time though, Sebastian was going to do everything he could to see that Gabe succeeded, and that meant leaving this cell with Nova at once.
He bent down and put his arms around his daughter's shoulders, surprising himself at how natural the simple action felt, and how readily, too, Nova in turn clung to him. She'd seemed so self-assured and grown up early, that Sebastian had forgotten how young she still was, and how scared she must be, until she buried her face against his shoulder. "Easy now, we'll find your mama," he said roughly as he patted her back. "I love her, you know, and I've no intention of losing her – or you – now. Besides, I have an idea where she might be."
Nova pulled back to look at him, rubbing her eyes with her sleeve. "You do?"
"I do indeed," said Sebastian, rising to his feet. "But we have to hurry now. I promise I'll tell you on the way." She nodded and sniffed loudly as she tried to smile. "Good lass," said Sebastian, kissing her quickly on the cheek. He pinched the candle in the lantern, leaving Vilkas in the same murky darkness he'd endured, and slipped the ring of keys around his wrist. "Now grab Lady, and we'll go."
Nova hurried to grab the doll and her basket. "Dallas' father said you're to meet him near the northwest wall, in the far corner of the gallows, and he'll toss you a rope. He said you're to squawk like a crow twice, the way you used to… He also said you knew what that meant."
"And I most certainly do, too." Sebastian took Nova by one hand and the dagger with the other. "You'll hear it yourself soon enough."
"Not this time, Pa," she said, shaking her head. "Dallas' father said I have to leave the same way I came, by the front door, so the guards won't suspect anything. I'm to tell them that Mr. Vilkas has gone to the toilets so they'll let me out. Dallas' father said—"
"Oh, the Black Divine take what Dallas' father said," said Sebastian gently. "You'll listen to what your own father says now, and I say you're coming with me, where I know you'll be safe."
Nova flashed the shy smile again, though now it wobbled with the tears she was trying so hard not to shed. "Very well," she said. "I will."
Sebastian shut the door after them, locking Vilkas inside for good measure, and they hurried to the far end of the narrow hall, to the door that opened to the outside yard. The long key was easy to find, and Sebastian eased the door open just far enough for him to see outside, the dagger ready in his hand. From his cell he'd heard guards patrolling this yard late at night, but tonight the small walled court was empty, at least for now. With his fingers across his lips to warn Nova to stay quiet, he tossed the ring of keys into the snow behind the outhouse and led her swiftly across the yard to the wall. After the narrow oppressive blackness of the cell, he felt exposed in the moonlight, as if every suspicious eye in Kirkwall might be turned their way, and he pressed himself flat against the thin band of shadow cast by the wall. Through the linen of his shirt, the bricks were rough against his arms, and only then did he remember that he wore no coat, the edge of excitement and fear enough to keep the chill of Kirkwall's frozen night, at bay.
Sebastian took a deep breath and mimicked the cawing of a crow, the high-pitched call bouncing back at him from the brick walls. As boys he and Gabe had practiced so much that they could confuse real birds into flying toward them, and Sebastian knew he hadn't forgotten any of the finer points. But no answering call came from the other side of the wall, nor did the promised rope come flying over the top.
What if Nova had mistaken the directions? What if Gabe had been captured himself while waiting on the other side of the wall, or what if he and Nova had simply taken too much time inside the gallows that Gabriel had given up on them? What if he'd come this far, only to be recaptured again, and this time Nova was with him? And what if he never saw Marian again?
"Maybe you should try again," whispered Nova. "Dallas' father said—"
"Hush now," Ordered Sebastian, far shaper than he'd intended. He strained to hear any guard or alarm over the painful thumping of his own heart. Over and over in battle he'd been faced down with certain death on the regular, but never had the stakes seemed so high. His mouth was dry and he swallowed hard, and then cupped his hands around his mouth once more, to repeat the caw. The familiar mocking caw, halfway to laughter, rose again over the wall.
Sebastian waited, concentrating everything on willing Gabriel's reply to come. Gabe HAD to be there. He wouldn't have abandoned them, he simply couldn't—
The answering cry rolled into the night, more piercing than any crow had a right to be at this hour, even at Solstice. Sebastian looked up just in time to see the knotted rope's end arc over the top of the wall to swing with a dull thump against the bricks. Sebastian grabbed the rope and jerked on it hard to test its strength. The rope was so clearly from some ship, a mariner's line still coated with old stains of tar, that Sebastian had to smile, imagining Gabriel commandeering it from some unsuspecting vessel in the harbor. But the rope would easily hold his weight, and that was what mattered most to him now.
Swiftly he tied the checkered cloth from the basket around his waist into an impromptu sash and thrust the dagger into it to free his hands, then held the rope out to Nova. "Sling that basket over your shoulder," he whispered, "then climb hand over hand up the wall. I'll be right after you. Easy enough, eh?"
But Nova shook her head; her arms wrapped tightly around Lady, and glanced longingly over her shoulder back to the gallows. "If it's all the same to you," she said, voice small. "I'd rather go back the way I came."
Sebastian groaned at his own thoughtlessness. His daughter was tough as nails, and quick as a whip, but she was a lady as well… "You don't know how, do you? Because of your robes and being a girl and all?"
Too ashamed to answer, Nova stared down at her feet.
Sebastian sighed. "Well, you've been brave enough before this, but I'll be damned before I let you go back in there. Now, give me Lady. Be quick, lass, Gabe's waiting!" Reluctantly Nova handed Sebastian the doll, and he stuffed it into the front of his waistcoat, leaving only Lady's head, with her frizzled hair, to peek crossly out from between the buttons. "Quickly now, onto my back," he ordered, bending so she could climb up. "And be careful not to throttle me, little lass." He could feel her fear by the way she clung to him, using her legs, as well as her arms, to keep herself from falling. "Hang on, sweet, that's a good lass," he reassured as he braced his foot against the wall. "Your mama will be expecting to see both of us."
But Nova was heavier than he realized, and the two days in the gallows had already taken their toll. The muscles in his arms quivered with strain, and he was close to gasping from exertion by the time he reached the top, Yet not once did Nova cry out or fight him, and he thought again, with pride, that she really was a Vael, through and through.
It wasn't until they'd reached the ground and Gabe had lifted her from his back that Sebastian saw she had kept her eyes squeezed shut the whole time, and had them shut still. He grabbed her hand and followed Gabriel, Dallas and the elf he had seen at the Hanged Man so many nights ago. Though only a month or so ago the time felt much longer… Why was the lyrium elf here? Without contemplating it to long for fear of the answer, Sebastian began to run after the trio, running away from the wall and the gallows, not stopping until they'd reached the burying ground, all five of them dropping down into the protective shadows of the tall stone wall that surrounded it.
"There, Nova, it's done," said Sebastian breathlessly as he hugged her close. "I'm proud of you, sweet, and your ma will be too. Look here." He tapped the little hawk pendent pinned to his waistcoat. "That's your mama's crest, yes?" Sebastian questioned. Nova shook her head rapidly in agreement. "Well, it's my hawk too, and the luckiest, of lucky hawk pieces it is. No harm would dare come to us with this keeping guard, your Mama simply wouldn't allow it."
"Fine enough, Sebastian," said Gabriel impatiently, "but WHERE is Marian? Should we go back an' cast the rope for her?"
Quickly Sebastian rose, his hands remaining protectively on Nova's shoulders. "Marian's not in there, Gabe. Cullen told me she's still at the Rose."
"The Rose?!" Gabriel swore with disbelief. "Damn it, Sebastian! We donnae' have time tae' search all over Kirkwall fer' her!"
"We have time to search The Rose!" The lyrium elf interjected his words sharp, his demeanor unwavering.
"You can come or not, as you please Gabriel." Sebastian added silently grateful for the elf's…. Fenris, if he rememebered correctly, support. Though he suspected the support had nothing to do with Sebastian at all and everything to do with the lady in question. Jealousy laced him against his will and once more Sebastian caressed the little hawk pinned to his waistcoat. "I'm not leaving Kirkwall without Marian."
"Your Knight-Vigilant was lying, Pa," whispered Nova. "Look. Mama can't be in her quarters, there's no light in her window, and besides, she'd never leave the shutters open like that at night, not when it's this cold."
Sebastian nodded, drawing his shoulders more deeply into the anonymous old coat that Gabe had brought for him. From where they stood across the street from The Rose, hidden in the ruins of a house half torn down by the Templars, Marian's darkened window did stand out conspicuously amid the blaze of candlelight in the others.
The Templar commanders had chosen The Rose as the site of their Solstice celebrations, and even without a hostess to oversee their festivities, they were managing to entertain themselves most extravagantly, and boisterously, too, the shouts and singing spilling out into the otherwise quiet streets. Even the guards at the front door were sitting sprawled on the step, passing a bottle between them. As a commander himself, even with his now tarnished legacy, Sebastian was appalled by the disregard for their duty, their vows! And he saw the hypocrisy in his disgust, as he realized he'd likely be apart of the fun if things were different. No wonder his escape hadn't been noticed yet.
"Nova's right, Templar," said Fenris beside him, Sebastian, didn't miss the untrusting venom and bitterness in the elf's low voice.
"Nae' one's seen nor heard from Marian since they arrested ye' both." Gabriel added. "Not even her own brother last Ah' heard it. Ye' know as well as Ah' do Sebastian, that Marian would nae' sit quiet an' peaceful, even if they drain her mana. If they'd locked her up in there, she would've been calling from the window like a banshee. Ah' side with Nova. Marian's not there."
"Then she has to be elsewhere in the tavern," said Sebastian. "Cullen liked the notion of keeping her a prisoner in her own home too much to move her. Mark my word, he's hidden her somewhere else inside. Think, Nova. Is there some staff quarters or storage room under the foundations where he might have put her?"
Nova shook her head, her hands twisting each other. "The attic's full of soldiers, and the staff quarters don't have locks."
"The cellar," said Fenris, with sudden excitement, his voice pitching an octave higher seemingly in spite of himself. "That's it. There's a special storeroom down there where she hoards her wine and Vael rum. Marian had a padlock as big as a hillside put on the door to keep everyone but her out."
"And now it's keeping her in," said Sebastian bitterly, hating the image of Marian locked away alone in some dark, cold cellar. "Of course, Cullen would have taken her keys when they took her, but maybe we could force the lock."
Nova began hopping up and down from the cold and from excitement. "You don't have to force anything. Mama keeps another ring of keys hidden in a little door in the paneling outside her room."
"Then Ah'll go get them," declared Dallas. "Nae' one will notice me, an' Ah' can be back again in nae' time."
Nova scowled. "I'll go. I know where they are and you don't, and I—"
"Neither one of you is going," said Sebastian firmly. "Not with the place so full of Templar Knight-Commanders. It's too dangerous."
"No, it's not." Nova's hopping grew more insistent, the hood of her cloak bobbing up and down over her head. "I can go in through the stillroom door and then up the back stairs, the old twisty ones that only Mama and I use. Your probably too big." The girl said matter-of-factly. "Then I can come back and let you in by the cellar door. Please, Father, let me help!"
Father, the single word so grown up, her father… What father would let his only child go into direct danger, Sebastian sighed unhappily. He should be keeping her close to him, not sending her off alone into the firestorm. Marian would have his head if she knew what he contemplated. But what choice did he have, really? The girl was the only one who knew where her mother had hidden the second set, of secret keys, just as she was the only one who'd be able to find her way through the back passages of the old tavern.
"Alright then, lass," he said quickly, before he could change his mind. He reached inside his borrowed coat to unfasten the hawk pendent, and then bent to pin it on the front of Nova's gown. "You wear this for luck and let me have Lady. But if you're gone for more than ten minutes, we'll come in and get you out, understand?"
Nova nodded, her eyes shining as she handed Sebastian the doll and touched the hawk piece, then she turned and disappeared, darting off into the night, and as Sebastian watched her he wondered if he'd lost any shred of sanity he might still have. What had he done, trusting so much to an eleven-year-old girl?"
Gabriel pulled out his pocket watch, holding it cradled in his palm so that Sebastian could read it even in the shadows. "Ye' said ten minutes, an' ten minutes she'll get, brother," he said with gruff sympathy as he rested his hand on Dallas' shoulder. "Ye' must trust her, Sebastian. None o' us could do what she can. An' Marian will understand, too, if that's what ye're worried about. Likely she'd do the same fer' ye', given the choice." Fenris nodded in silent agreement, his white hair a striking contrast to the shadows they dwelled in.
Sebastian, on the other hand, was not so convinced, as he tucked the doll into his coat pocket. Marian had sent Nova to live with the Arainai's rather than have her near the Templar inquisition, and now he'd sent her smack into the middle of a Templar party. He glanced at Gabriel's watch, then again and yet again, and each time less than a minute had passed. Why in the Black Divine had he let her go on such an errand, anyway?
His gaze never leaving the front of the tavern, he ran his fingertips restlessly back and forth across the blunt edge of the dagger, each minute stretching longer and longer. Each minute was another chance for something to happen to Nova, another moment when the Templars could learn he'd escaped and raise an alarm. He let himself steal another glance at Gabe's watch. What exactly would he do if Nova didn't return? There had to be at least thirty or forty Knight-Commanders in there, and as for the others—
"Here I am!" whispered Nova breathlessly, dodging in through the broken timbers behind them. She'd lost her cap, her bronze hair half-unpinned and trailing from her hood, but her face was radiant with triumph as she held a lumpy pillowcase like a trophy in both hands before her. "I had to wait and go round through the stable because there were two nasty soldiers being ill in the yard."
"You're alright?" demanded Sebastian. "No one tried to harm you?"
"Of course I'm alright. No one even saw me. Where's Lady?" Quickly she hugged the doll, then reached deep into the linen pillowcase. "Here are the keys, right where Ma left them. This one – here – that's the one to the cellar room."
"You're a wonder, lass." Sebastian slid the key from the ring and tucked the rest into his pocket. " What else is in the bag? Knight-Vigilant Cullen's sword and armour?"
Nova giggled with excitement. "Only some things from Mama's room that I thought she'd want, seeing as how we'll be leaving for good tonight in Aunt Bela's boat."
For good. Sebastian hadn't thought of it like that – he hadn't looked beyond finding Marian at all – but with a jolt he realized Nova was right. There was nothing left for any of them in Kirkwall now. His career with the Divine's elite was over, and so was hers as the keeper of The Rose and furthermore as the Viscountess of Kirkwall. They'd have to begin again, whether in Starkhaven or elsewhere. But whatever came next, they'd face it together, not only as husband and wife, but as a family, as well.
Together, that is, once he'd gotten his lady back. "As precious as those things must be, Nova, you're going to have to leave those with Uncle Gabe," he said as he checked the dagger to make sure it was secure, hiking the bow on his shoulder. "And I'm afraid you're going to have to trust them with Lady, too."
"I don't mind," said Nova. "He's already taking care of Princess, too. She's waiting for me in the stable, with Casey."
"But we're coming, too!" protested Dallas indignantly. "Is that nae' right, Pa? Ah' am not going tae' be left behind again, 'specially not with some double-blasted, double-damned doll!"
"Watch yer' tongue before Nova, son," warned Gabriel mildly. "An' aye, we'll be letting Sebastian an' his lass go without us. Lady Hawke does nae' need us all thumpin' down into her cellar after her."
He smiled at Sebastian as he took the pillowcase and doll from Nova. "We'll be waiting here fer' ye', brother, fer' ye' an' yer' two ladies."
"Mark that, Nova," The forgotten lyrium elf added, his care for the lass evident. "If you find yourself alone, you come find us, and we'll see you're taken care of." Sebastian clasped both the men's shoulders. He knew what they both were offering. It wasn't just that Nova could return here to them if she were separated from her parents tonight. But if both Sebastian and Marian should perish or be recaptured – very real possibilities- Then these men, his brother and Marian's friend were offering homes to their daughter.
"Thank you, both of you," Sebastian said softly. "For everything."
Both men shrugged from his grasp, the elf, to move to the shadows once more. Gabriel though, he shrugged away from his brother, embarrassed by the emotion that both of them felt. "Just so we're truly equal, eh, brother?" he said, swiping his sleeve self-consciously across his eyes. "Shove off now, both o' ye', an' be quick about it. Does nae' do tae' keep a fine woman like Lady Hawke waiting."
"Amen to that, Gabriel," said Sebastian quietly as Nova slipped her hand into his, ready to leave. "Amen to that."