Dearest Father,

I received a letter this morning from some Antivan noble asking to meet with me outside the Blooming Rose. He needed my assistance with something, though the letter didn't initially state what it was. Varric came by shortly after to discuss the latest rumors around Kirkwall, so I convinced him to go to the meeting with me. I suppose he knows me all too well when he headed toward the Chantry first to get Sebastian. I guess it's true; I rarely go anywhere these days without him.

Nuncio Caldera Lanos was quite full of himself as we were speaking. The way he stood, looking down at us even though asking for a favor, it did not go unnoticed by myself or Varric. Apparently my relationship with the Dalish is well known around Kirkwall, and he needed my connections to find an elven assassin who he believed was hiding among their clan at Sundermount. I guess this Nuncio wasn't aware that we were just involved in the death of the Dalish Keeper Marethari, and the thought of returning to Sundermount so soon after for yet another confrontation was not something I wanted to do.

It was Varric who convinced me that we should. It's all in the approach he said; tell them we heard about the assassin, and after all their recent troubles, we wanted to make sure they were alright. That wasn't far from the truth, I have been thinking of them often, but I didn't feel comfortable lying to them about why we were there. Sebastian, surprisingly, agreed with Varric. I wouldn't exactly be lying, he said, I could check on their welfare and do this job for Nuncio at the same time.

I took this opportunity to invite Anders. He has been spending all of his time isolated from the rest of us in his clinic, and I thought a trip to Sundermount would be good for him. I was also concerned about facing an assassin, and wanted his assistance in healing. I hadn't seen him since my visit with King Alistair, and I do worry about him. So I was overjoyed when he agreed to come with us.

The welcome we received when we arrived at the Dalish camp wasn't as harsh as I had anticipated. I was introduced to Keeper Vinell, who took over for Marethari. She was a little apprehensive at first; it was clear she was not used to speaking with those that weren't Dalish, and she admitted as much. She told us about several traders and mercenaries that had come to their camp recently, as well as some Chantry folk that were either trying to convert them or threaten them. Sebastian and Varric both promised to look into this for me when we returned to Kirkwall. These people have been through enough; and without the wisdom of Marethari to see them through, I wanted to help in any way I could.

I spoke briefly with Hahren Paivel, who was the only one to ask about Merrill. He warned me of the heavy burden I have taken on with my promise to watch over her, which I expected. Others didn't have such kind words to say, especially Tareth. He blamed me as much as Merrill for Marethari's death, and no matter how hard I tried to apologize, he didn't want to hear it.

Variel was kind enough to interrupt Tareth's verbal assault on us. While she too was upset about Marethari, as I expected the entire clan to be, she only blamed Merrill. Since she was the most comfortable with us, I brought up the assassin, and asked her if he had ventured into their camp. She admitted he had been through, and was hold up in a cave we had visited once before. When I asked if he had brought harm to any of the clan, she insisted he hadn't, and even asked for them to reveal his location should any inquiries about him be made. Interesting tactic from a wanted assassin. When she wished us luck in getting to him, I heard Tareth snickering behind her. I'm sure he was hoping we didn't survive the encounter.

I really did not miss the giant wasp spiders and webs of the Sundermount caves. What I did miss was Fenris and Aveline; Maker knows why I decided not to bring one of them along to handle the brunt of the fighting we endured. The assassin was smart to hide there with all of nature's creatures protecting him. In between the spiders were traps, presumably set up by him, and I wondered just how he managed to do that without the spiders attacking him. He must be very skilled indeed.

When we reached the center of the cave, we came face to face with another varterral. I tried to ignore the images of Pol when we were last here, how he ran from Merrill straight into the varterral's hunting ground and was later killed by it. This fight wasn't as difficult as the last time since we were all ranged fighters and could stay far out of its reach. The longer we fought, however, the more certain I was that this was in fact the very same creature we had left for dead.

"Uh, Hawke?" Varric looked at her curiously. "You can stop throwing fireballs at it, I think it's dead."

Hawke blasted another fireball at the varterral. "That's what we said last time. But oh look, there it was. Alive and everything"

Varric didn't disagree, as he hadn't stopped pointing Bianca toward the giant five legged creature. "I'm with you Hawke, but the smell of that thing burning is making my eyes water."

"Perhaps it's a different one Hawke," Sebastian offered. "A mate maybe?"

"Maybe," Hawke said, keeping her staff in front of her. "But it sure does look like the last one, and I don't want to take any chances."

An accented voice from the shadows startled the group, and they all turned to face the man who was speaking. "It is said that if charged to guard something, a varterral will stay alive no matter how many times it is struck down. Though I believe you've done an efficient job this time, it may be best to step over here for now."

"Who are you?" Hawke asked as the others closed in around her. "Show yourself."

An elven man walked into the dim light of the cavern, and Hawke took in his unique look. His left cheek was tattooed with three curved lines, and he had blond hair held back by intricate braids on each side which accented his bronzed skin beautifully. Hawke hadn't seen any elves at Sundermount or within Kirkwall who had such a way about them. And when he spoke, it was as if each word was inflected with a hint of seduction.

"My name is Zevran Arainai," the elf said with a bow. "Adventurer and occasional assassin."

"I've heard about you," Anders spoke for the first time since entering the cave. "You helped the Hero of Ferelden stop the Blight."

"Indeed I did," Zevran replied. "And I must admit, I was not expecting you. An assault by the Crows perhaps, but not the the mighty Champion of Kirkwall herself."

Hawke was surprised. "How do you know who I am?"

Zevran laughed. "Slayer of Qunari, Deep Roads explorer, and a beauty to make the gods jealous? You underestimate your fame my dear. Oh, and that big statue at the docks in Kirkwall helped a little."

"Maker, I hate that thing," Hawke muttered.

"A beauty such as yours deserves to be carved in stone," Zevran told her. "Surely your companions can agree."

Sebastian moved closer to Hawke. "Yes, we can."

That was the first time I witnessed Sebastian having a jealous side. Varric told me once that Sebastian was envious of Cullen, Anders, even Fenris, but I didn't believe any of it until now. The more Zevran flirted, the closer Sebastian moved toward me. It was quite endearing.

Zevran went on to tell us about these Crows; a group of assassins usually hired by wealthy families to remove their enemies. Zevran had left the Crows, after killing several of them including their Guildmaster, which was the real reason Nuncio was searching for him. I didn't appreciate being lied to by Nuncio, and assured Zevran that I would have no part in turning him in. I was, however, determined to confront Nuncio. Zevran warned us to be careful, as Nuncio probably wanted us dead whether we succeeded in his request or not.

As predicted, Nuncio was less than thrilled at my decision to release Zevran. A few threats were made, Zevran showed up to assist, and quickly Nuncio and his men had fallen. A shame, really, that Nuncio was so determined to fight us instead of walk away, but if I've learned anything over the years, it's that sometimes pride is more powerful than reason or common sense. We searched the men and their camp for coin, which we split with Zevran, and then said our goodbyes.

"A question, if I may?" Zevran asked before leaving. "I have heard rumors you count among your friends a feisty pirated rogue named Isabela. If you could get a message to her…"

"I'm afraid your rumors are outdated," Varric interrupted. "Rivaini is long gone."

Zevran noticed the look of sadness in Hawke's eyes, and didn't press further. "Ah, I see. Well then, fight well my friends," he said. "It has been a pleasure. Perhaps we will meet again."

They watched the former Crow as he disappeared over one of the small hills along the coast, and then headed in the opposite direction toward Kirkwall. Sebastian walked with Hawke behind Varric and Anders, and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Are you alright?" he asked, the tone of his voice filled with concern.

Hawke shrugged and gave him a weak smile. "I'm fine," she replied, though the unshed tears in her eyes told a different story. "I just miss her sometimes is all."

Sebastian tried his best to remain supportive, but he had seen that look in her eyes before. When her hand glided along the stairwell railing in her home and she felt the carving left in the wood by Isabela, that same sad expression would appear. He was by her side when Isabela left; betraying her friends and the good of Kirkwall for her own selfish need. It was difficult to find a kind word about the woman when all he remembered was the pain Hawke had endured that day.

"You're going to break it if you keep that up," Hawke said as she held up their joined hands.

Sebastian immediately released the firm grip caused by his anger. "I'm sorry Hawke, I didn't mean…"

"It's fine," she interrupted, flexing her fingers. "See? No damage done. And I know, you don't feel I should miss her because of what she did, but I can't help it sometimes. She was a good friend, at least for a time, and I never imagined she'd abandon me like that."

"A good friend never would," Sebastian reminded her. "You nearly died that day, which could have been avoided had she remained."

"True," Hawke agreed. "There is a part of me that will never forgive her. In the end, her promises and friendship were all lies. But that doesn't mean I can't miss her once in a while. And besides, that day wasn't all bad."

Sebastian smiled as he remembered their first kiss before her battle with the Arishok. "No, there was one shining moment through it all, and I will treasure that memory forever."

Hawke couldn't help but grin as she thought of that moment as well. "One of many firsts I look forward to having with you," she whispered so Varric and Anders couldn't hear her.

The color in his cheeks was enough for Hawke to know that Sebastian knew exactly what she was talking about, and all thoughts of Isabela faded from her mind as she thought on her future with the man by her side.

Author's Note: I absolutely must dedicate this chapter to my fellow DAFF writer mille libri.

She recently reviewed my story Edge of the Sea and Sky (my version of Zevran and Isabela's first meeting pre-DAO), which I wrote nearly three years ago. Whenever someone reviews an older story of mine, I go back and read it again for my review replies, and in doing so I found the motivation to write again because I had missed that pairing so much. I couldn't bring them together in this story without completely changing things around, but the idea of mentioning Isabela made it come close. And I owe that spark of an idea to her.

You can find her on my profile listed under my favorite authors; she's an amazing writer (and a kickass friend) so go check her out!