Chapter 47

Apologies for this being late! Life has got in the way a lot and I am seriously sorry about that.

Much love to those who reviewed/read/followed/favourite whilst I was away, you guys have been amazing so far and I value your support.

My beta, LostSpace is someone I am thankful for! Thank you for all your help! You're amazing!

Fenris walked into the Hanged Man, scanning the tavern for the dwarf. After noticing Varric's absence he quickly ordered a drink and sat at one of the tables that was tucked away in the corner and decided to wait for the dwarf's eventual return. It was not out of character for Varric to be late for their weekly game of Wicked Grace. Sometimes it was whatever the blasted dwarf did with his network of spies or whatever secret organisations that he claimed he was sole patriarch to and sometimes it was more mundane things, like he desired alone time with his crossbow.

Fenris looked down at his hands lost in thought. It had been a week since Hawke and he had kissed and that she had promised to return to him. She had broken her promise to him and at first he wanted to bang on the Amell mansion door and demand an explanation, but as he reeled in his bitterness he realised that Hawke was not the only one to blame. He had noticed the difference in Hawke from the moment she had returned weeks ago, but never realised to what extent. She was just as scared as he was about what had happened; Hawke was tied down by people he lacked in his life.

He did not know where his passion came from. One moment white hot rage had hit him and set light to his markings and caused his anger to be taken out on Hawke, then the next he was laying on top of her claiming her with his mouth. It was... absurd. He did not like to touch; touching had never been a pleasant experience to him. Every time Danarius had touched him or Hadriana had made him succumb to her wicked wants he felt nothing but pain. Touch for a slave was like a noose, affection was imaginary and to say otherwise was ridiculous.

It annoyed him how Hawke had forgotten her promises to her friends as she played the part of noble woman. She acted as if she did not care about them, and though he did not care for them either the others did not look up to him as they did Hawke. Her word had been her bond. Since her brother had left the blood mage had hidden in her house with her demons, the abomination had become more obsessed with his goal, even Varric seemed distant as he worked in the Merchant's Guild, staying in Hightown more often than the Hanged Man some days. Hawke failed to see the effect her absence was having on her friends.

"Stare any harder into your drink and it may taste worse than before," Isabela laughed as she sat down on the stool opposite him with a coy grin smeared across her face.

"I doubt that is possible," Fenris snorted, taking a swig of the Hanged Man's finest ale.

"Varric isn't here tonight unless you've decided to take me up on my offer, Fenny?" Isabela asked, her voice a quiet purr as her smiled widened. Fenris' stomach dropped at Isabela's use of the nickname that Hawke had given him. It seemed even when he tried to push Hawke out of his mind she somehow clambered back in.

"I'd rather not," Fenris snorted again, rolling his eyes at the pirate who had folded her arms as she threw him a feigned disappointed look.

"Hawke said as much too, in fact she was adamant about it. Care to explain how Hawke seems to know so much about your sexual appetite?" Isabela asked, a grin reappearing on her bronze face.

"I thought it was common knowledge I'd rather not sleep with you, I apologise if I did not make myself clear on the matter," Fenris said.

"Deny me all you want, I always win in the end. Although I don't really think it would be worth crossing Hawke, she was rather annoyed when I brought it up today," Isabela said, her grin playing on her lips as she continued with her game. Fenris knew what Isabela was doing; the pirate knew he would be curious as to why she was with Hawke today.

"Was she?" he asked, feigning innocence.

"Yes, she was. And now she's off hunting for a crazy elf who's made a load of Qunari sam-coo-nark, or whatever it's called, instead of the explosives she thought she stole. I'm glad I pissed her off so -"

"What did you say the elf had created?" Fenris interrupted, his eyes growing wide in shock. Sar-qamek was highly poisonous even in the smallest of quantities. He had witnessed the effects of the poison from a distance and it was grim to say the least.

"Oh, I don't know, Qunari always seem to make up the most ridiculous names for things, Arishok, Qun, Sten, seriously who makes this stuff up?" Isabela said, merrily drinking her bottle of wine as she chuckled to herself.

"Where is she?" Fenris asked in a determined tone. Hawke, as always, overestimated herself; the poison could easily kill everyone in the party.

"I don't know, some foundry at Lowtown. I don't see why you're getting your knickers in a twist-" Isabela said.

"You would if you had seen what one bottle of the poison did to an entire regiment of Tevinter soldiers," Fenris snapped, standing up and sheathing his great sword on his back and turning without giving Isabela a second's thought.

"Shit! That elf is making piles of the stuff, is that as bad as I think it is?" Isabela said concern drenching her face as Fenris looked at her. He realised this was the first time he had seen the pirate queen openly express an emotion that did not relate to her loins, but chose not to comment due to the urgency of the situation.

"Who is Hawke with?" he asked as they walked quickly out of the Hanged Man.

"Anders, Varric and Merrill. It was meant to be Lady Man Hands but Hawke and her had an argument about how Big Girl couldn't bring herself to go on her date and abandoned Hawke to deal with a guard who now thinks Hawke wants to get in his pants," Isabela replied, throwing the bottle of empty wine to the floor with a loud smash.

"Then we must hurry, Hawke is too confident in her abilities and she will not understand what is happening until she inhales the poison," Fenris said, ignoring Isabela's gossip and quickening his pace. Despite recent events he would not allow Hawke to be hurt.

"Fenris, what does it do?" Isabela asked her voice quieter than he had ever heard it.

"It drives you mad. The poison itself is a hallucinogenic for the most part but I believe there are other ingredients to worsen the symptoms," Fenris replied, breaking into a run before waiting for Isabela's reply. Hawke was strong, and Fenris gave her credit when due, but the blood mage and the abomination were both easy targets for the poison. It would hurt Hawke more than a blade if her so called friends betrayed her.

….

"All of you, I can't fight the damned air, you want to live then stay out!" the guard commanded, looking directly at Fenris who glared back in frustration. Before he could verbally express his annoyance at the guard, the voice of the Guard Captain simmered through the crowd.

"Guardsman, state the situation," she said, barging through the masses of people that were waiting for news.

"Guard Captain! I cannot even begin to describe it, it is as if the air down there is sending everyone insane," the guard stammered whilst saluting dutifully.

Aveline turned and looked around at the crowd behind her, scanning the scene and Fenris immediately knew she was searching for Hawke. When the Guard Captain's eyes fell on Fenris however, they grew wide in disbelief.

"Why aren't you with Hawke?" she asked in shock.

"We could say the same for you Lady Man Hands," Isabela said, popping through the crowd with a newly acquired bag of gold, which Fenris suspected came from the guard.

"Shut it Slattern! Now is not the time! This means they have gone in without a warrior defending them! If I'd have known I would have stayed!" Aveline said more to herself than anyone. But what irked Fenris was that Hawke did not feel she could call on him for his sword any longer. Did this mean they were no longer allies?

"Speculation accounts for nothing if we are not allowed through this gate," Fenris snapped, waking the Guard Captain from her guilt ridden thoughts.

"The Hawk has gone through here hasn't he guardsman?" Aveline asked the guard in a hurried tone.

"I-yes, I was assured he would put the matter to rest," the guard admitted.

"Open the gate, we're going in," Aveline commanded and the guard obliged without a moment's hesitation.

Fenris quickly pushed past everyone else and rushed through the foundry alleys, trying to ignore the thick broth like air that swam in his lungs. He could hear the catlike sprint of Isabela following him, accompanied by the loud clash of metal that confirmed Aveline was also close by. It felt odd to be the leader of one of their expeditions for once, it was always Hawke that charged in front of them and lead them to where they needed to be.

He heard the clashing of swords and instantly unsheathed his great sword, readying himself to join the fray. As they turned the corner they heard the exhausted shout of Hawke coming from the mist. He had never expected to be so happy to hear her sarcastic remarks but here he was, joyful that she was still alive.

"Shit! Varric, he's turned! Get away from Anders!" Hawke's panicked shout came from the mist.

"Hawke! Do you want to do something about Blondie? Dodging swords and balls of fire is difficult!" Varric shouted.

Fenris saw the dwarf being attacked on both ends as he came into the fray of the battle. The blood mage laid unconscious on the floor -she had obviously been the one who was first to crack under the effects of the poison. Fenris lit his brands and charged, swiping his great sword at the enemies that cornered the dwarf causing them to fall to the floor with ease. It seemed the poison had also taken effect on those who had unleashed it.

The fireball that almost singed him woke him from his thoughts and he swirled around and glared angrily at the abomination who threw them in every direction, sobbing to himself as he did so. Fenris turned back to the dwarf who flashed him a wicked grin.

"Go on, call it a thanks for saving my ass just now," the dwarf chuckled in a raspy tone; the poison had obviously begun to take its toll.

Fenris grinned for a moment and moved towards the abomination, whose eyes were closed as he whimpered and muttered. It seemed his spirit could not protect him from the Qunari poison as it had done with the demon in the Deep Roads. The abomination appeared on the brink of madness, muttering in a weak and sobbing voice and Fenris wondered for a moment if he would remember what was about to happen to him.

He thoroughly hoped so.

Fenris closed the distance between him and the abomination and knocked the idiotic mage unconscious in one enthusiastic punch. The abomination fell straight to the floor and Fenris gave him another short glance of satisfaction before running back into the fray to assist Hawke.

He found Hawke battling an elven woman who held a great sword in her arm with as much ease as Hawke held her daggers. The two women darted around each other and he could see Hawke's exhaustion just by her stance.

"ISABELA, AVELINE HURRY UP WITH THAT LAST BARREL!" Hawke screamed, her face almost pained as she continued to fight. Fenris turned to see Isabela and Aveline closing what seemed to be the last of the barrels, though Isabela almost seemed drunk as she swayed, trying to get the last lock into the vat as Aveline defended her from the stragglers of mercenaries.

Hawke continued to battle the elven woman up the stairs of the foundry, coughing as she did so. Fenris began to pick off as many of the remaining mercenaries as he could.

Fenris…

He froze at the sound of Hadriana's voice in fear. He looked around wildly and tried to convince himself that she was not here, the effects of the poison were taking place but he could not. Paranoia gripped his body and he stared up at Hawke as she continued to fight.

Everything else happened so fast, it felt as if he had merely blinked and everything had already transpired.

He heard the cheers of Isabela as the last barrel had been locked and the poison was no longer a severe threat to the city, then he watched the dwarf collapse in exhaustion as the poison took its toll. Hawke laughed at Isabela's cheers, -almost in slow motion to him- and then her attempt to dodge the elven woman –whom he assumed was the group's leader- failed, and the large sword carved into Hawke's stomach, who collapsed almost instantly in pain.

"NO!" Fenris roared, becoming a mere ghost as he zoomed up the stairs.

He had felt every kind of pain imaginable, but the pain that coursed through him at the sight of the blade carving its way through Hawke's body as if she was made of butter was most definitely one of the most intense he had ever experienced. He cornered the elven woman, who had left her weapon inside of Hawke and growled at her savagely.

"Do what you will, the damage I created has fulfilled its purpose," she whispered, a mad grin on her face.

Fenris snarled at the woman's grin and bent down for a moment, ripping her heart out with a sickening crack and just as quickly throwing it to the floor.

He ran back towards Hawke who was leant against the banister of the stairs. He could not fully see her face but her eyes screamed that she was in agony. He pulled down her veil to help her breathe, he could think of little else to do.

"Wake Anders up," Aveline commanded to Isabela, who darted down the stairs without even replying.

Fenris watched as Hawke contorted in pain, unable to do anything.

"I'm sorry, Fenris," she whispered.

"I'm here, Hawke," he said, trying to make his voice louder but failing.

"You're really here, or are you another side effect from the poison?" she asked, panting in pain.

"I can assure you I am real, though you may pretend otherwise if it makes you feel better," Fenris said, his eyes flicking to the sword that was embedded into her stomach and the crimson blood that had begun to leak from her armour. His stomach dropped at the sight of Hawke, he had for so long believed her to be invincible. He looked in her belt in panic, hoping for a healing balm of any kind, then he searched his own belt and realised what little he had was long gone. His eyes flickered to the stairs and then to Aveline who was frozen to the spot staring at her friend with a grief stricken expression as if Hawke was already dead.

"Shit, this hurts. I'm sorry Fenris, I, ugh, I," Hawke began, and he knew she was trying to explain herself in what she thought were her last moments of life.

"You may apologise another time Hawke, preferably when there isn't a sword sticking out of your body," Fenris replied, but Hawke's eyes had begun to shut, he knew what was going to happen and it felt as if he was being ripped apart himself as he watched the colour drain from her face.

The abomination screamed as he ascended the stairs, viewing Hawke with disbelief. It seemed Fenris was not as different as the other companions. They too, had believed Hawke was invincible.

"Hawke?" Isabela asked in a serious tone that did not suit the pirate queen. "I'll go get Merrill and Varric out of here, you better save her life or you better run if you fail."

The abomination looked at the retreating figure of Isabela for a moment and then grabbed Hawke and turned her to her side so that the hilt of the sword was facing Fenris. Fenris glared at the abomination, confused to what he was doing for a moment.

"On three," the abomination said, looking at Fenris with a questioning stare. Fenris recalled one of the first memories of Hawke being injured, the abomination had said the exact same words but to Carver Hawke.

Fenris nodded his confirmation; he would not let Hawke die.

"One."

"Two."

If there was a Maker, Fenris hoped he would save her.

"THREE!"

Fenris ripped the sword out as quickly as he could and the blue glow of the abomination surrounded Hawke's body milliseconds after, halting Hawke's agonising scream. The blue glow lingered longer than Fenris had ever witnessed and he could see the strain in the abomination's face. After a moment Hawke exhaled a loud gurgling breath and for a moment Fenris did not hate every part of the mage's being.

Hawke laid on the floor, pale, but breathing, and Fenris was thankful for that.

"Thank the Maker," Aveline sighed, looking at Hawke who now seemed uninjured, apart from the gaping hole in her armour.

"She's not out of it yet, she's lost too much blood and I am in need of supplies. We need to get out of here as well, the air is still infected," the abomination stated in a professional tone. Fenris noticed how weak the mage seemed and realised how little energy the abomination had left from healing Hawke. It made him doubt whether the mage could walk, let alone save Hawke.

"Fenris, you must go with Anders and take her home. I will assist Isabela with Merrill and Varric. I fear the queue for Anders' clinic is going to be a long one tonight," Aveline said in her usual stern voice.

The abomination nodded his agreement and Fenris decided against arguing with the abomination. The poison had taken its toll on his body and right now Hawke laying limp on the floor was his only concern.

Fenris lifted Hawke as best as he could and looked down on the pale woman that once stood so tall she seemed almost immortal. The abomination stared at him for a moment, as if wanting to say something but not quite knowing what it was. After a long pause between the two men, the abomination threw Fenris one final glare.

"I never thought I'd say this, but thank you for punching me in the face."