A/N: Aha! I've finally finished another chapter. Thanks to shadowspartan12 for catching the hiccup in the last chapter; I greatly appreciate it. Anyways on to the next chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Age 2 in any manner or form.

Chapter 2: The Mark of Greatness

Hawke woke with a start and regretted doing so as something solid met with her forehead. She rubbed her head and squinted her eyes open to see an unaffected Mabari crouching above her.

"Feros! I'm not so sure I enjoy this kind of wake up call." She groaned and lay back down. "Why the gawking?" Her eyebrow rose slightly as the Mabari stared intently at her.

"He's probably wondering what his master was doing out all night, and how in all of Thedas she managed to get 'that' on her neck." Carter walked into the room and snickered at his sister's disheveled state.

That, thought Hawke as she traced a finger along her neck. She recalled yesterday and how glorious a night it had been, but didn't recall it being so glorious that she would have anything on her neck.

Hawke rose and went to a small mirror her mother kept from their house in Lothering. Much to Hawke's shame, a small red mark lay at the base of her neck. It was without a doubt Isabela who had left such a mark on her neck, but why couldn't she remember? Carver began to clap his hands.

"It seems you really are courting the whore, after all."

"Jealous, are we?" Hawke retorted. "I remember the first mark a girl gave you was a black circle around your eye; wasn't that thoughtful?"

"Ha. Ha. Very funny sister, just don't let Mother see you with that. I can just imagine how that would break her heart. Not only have you run off with a girl, but with a loose one at that."

"As much as I'd like to entertain your ideas on what Isabela does on her free time, I have other business to attend to. Somebody's got to support this family." She smirked at her brother's grimace and left out the front door. Her brother was such an ass sometimes.

Hawke sighed as she realized that she really didn't want anyone else speculating about the mark at the base of her neck. She looked at the table and was dismayed to see it stark naked of anything useful. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a piece of grey cloth stuck in between the wall and the table. She tugged it out and realized it was just another moth-eaten scarf, but it would have to do. It surely wasn't the most fashionable look but it did well in covering Isabela's piece of work.

Today she had promised to help Aveline out at the barracks, so off to the Viscount's Keep she went. Hawke walked in and was greeted with the backs of many a nobleman and woman. They were squabbling away at some other minor inconvenience or the other, and to think that her Mother had been part of this crowd at one point. Hawke wasn't positive that she wanted anything to do with the nobility in Kirkwall, but as long as her Mother desired to return honor to the Amell name, Hawke would help in getting the estate back. Once at the barracks, she spotted Aveline's orange hair pulled back and went towards her.

"What trouble have you managed to chokehold this time?" Hawke asked.

Aveline turned to address Hawke but stopped short at the sight of the scarf. Hawke fidgeted but kept her veneer of indifference. Aveline couldn't possibly be looking at the scarf; it was all in her head, it had to be.

"What's that?" Aveline went straight to the point as she pointed at the scarf.

"It's a scarf." Hawke responded coolly. "I was feeling a bit cold today."

Aveline eyed Hawke's sleeveless tunic and eyed Hawke warily.

"What?" Hawke held Aveline's gaze and fumbled with her staff. "As I recall you needed my help, or has that changed?"

"No, I still need your help, I'm just wondering what you're up to Hawke."

"I promise you it's nothing." Hawke waved her hand in the air.

"You should leave Hawke to her secrets Lady Manhands."

Hawke nearly jumped at hearing Isabela's voice come from somewhere behind her. She was the last person Aveline would want to see on any given day.

"Who let you in, whore?" Aveline stared hard at the pirate.

"As you may know there is an entrance that is quite big and noticeable." Isabela retorted and stood by Hawke's side. "What's this?" She hovered her fingers above the cloth on Hawke's neck.

Hawke nearly felt the urge to send another shocking spell at Isabela, but didn't want Aveline to have more to go on than she already did.

"We don't need your services here, so it's best that you leave."

"I won't leave unless Hawke orders it, and even then I may choose not to listen." Isabela draped one arm around Hawke's shoulders.

"It'd be best if we all worked together." Hawke conceded and received a groan from the guardswoman.

"So what are we doing?" Isabela was childishly eager to accompany the apostate and guardswomen.

"You aren't doing anything. As far as I'm aware you do too much already at the Hanged Man and the Blooming Rose. I'm up to my neck with charges involving you." Aveline roughly jabbed a finger at Isabela's shoulder. "Hawke and I will be investigating a situation at the alienage." She briskly turned away from the pirate and signaled Hawke to follow.

"Well someone's as tight as Andraste's arse since their promotion to guard captain." Isabela jested as she walked alongside Hawke. "You know Aveline you should join me whenever I go to the Blooming Rose, they have the perfect cure for… well tight-asses such as yourself."

"When I want to become as pliable as you, whore, I'll let you know." Aveline grunted and set off on a faster pace towards the alienage leaving Isabela with the sighing mage.

"I'm surprised she hasn't clobbered you with that shield of hers yet." Hawke sighed as she kept Isabela's pace through Lowtown.

"She wouldn't do that. After all she secretly wishes she could be more like me– curved in all the right places."

Hawke blushed as she reacted by looking Isabela up and down. The Maker himself certainly shaped her to be a goddess of voluptuous proportions. Hawke looked down at her own chest and knew she would never reach the fullness that Isabela claimed; she wasn't completely flat but she wasn't by any means voluptuous. Isabela watched with a twinkle in her eye as Hawke continued to inspect her lack of cleavage.

"I wouldn't worry about yours." Isabela piped up causing Hawke turn a deeper shade of red.

"I, I wasn't…"

"Size isn't everything; it's how you use it that matters." She winked at the blushing mage and laughed as Hawke nodded in acceptance of the pirate's advice.

Once they arrived at the alienage both Hawke and Isabela stopped abruptly at the steps where Aveline stood speechless. Nothing violent had occurred, or at least it didn't look like something atrocious had happened, but something had definitely gone wrong. Isabela drew nearer to the entrance and reached out her hand to touch the red string that practically webbed the whole alienage.

"It's twine…" Aveline stated.

"And it's all over the alienage." Hawke added

"Should I say something to point out the obvious as well?" Isabela chuckled as she cut through a strand.

"Wait!" Aveline grabbed the pirate's wrist. "We don't even know its purpose! What if it's a trap?"

Isabela groaned at Aveline's cautionary manner but kept her blade in hand. Hawke observed the surroundings and noticed that the elves kept to the edge where the twine did not touch. However there were children who were tugging and pulling at it in their play.

"I don't think it's dangerous, look." Hawke pointed to the children. "We should be able to get rid of it."

"Alright let's get to it." Aveline confirmed.

"Hawke how I wish I had the whip you hold over Aveline."

Aveline shot a glare back at the pirate but didn't pursue an argument now that there was something to be done about the strange twine. A resident of the alienage had come stuttering into her office about an "evil" that had "spread about." It was just her luck that she asked Hawke the other day to help out; Aveline thought that blood-magic could be involved.

Hawke collected the twine that Isabella cut and wondered where the blasted twine even started. To say that it was laced everywhere was an understatement. Aveline was clearing up the tree with little to no success; Isabela and Hawke were not faring any better.

A cry shot up from the furthest corner of the alienage and caused Hawke to run towards the victim. A small girl had been caught within the webs of the red twine and was having trouble breaking free. Her elders merely looked on in horror, unsure if it was safe to even touch the twine, regardless of the fact that the three humans were collecting it.

"It's alright, just don't move." Hawke spoke gently to the small, frail elven girl.

Isabela caught up and stood behind the crouched Hawke.

The girl trembled at the sight of the humans, but was slightly comforted by the smile of the short-haired woman in front of her. Her eyes were of a brilliant blue and her smile was gentle.

"Here hold my hand, my name's Hawke." Hawke held out her hand for the girl to take. "My friend here will cut you free."

The elf girl looked up at the woman behind the one that was holding her hand and wasn't sure she was as nice, but if she was a friend of Hawke's then maybe she wasn't so bad regardless of her shady disposition.

"What's your name?" Hawke asked as Isabela went about cutting the various strands that held the child.

"Til." She squeaked.

"That's a beautiful name. Well Til you're free now." Hawke smiled triumphantly up at Isabela who held a good chunk of mashed twine in her hands.

The child wrapped her arms around Hawke and pulled her in for a tight hug much to the mage's surprise. Her heart warmed at the memories it brought back of her home in Lothering. She was a favorite amongst all the children and spent a good portion of her day playing with them or getting them out of trouble. Since she arrived at Kirkwall, there had been no time to enjoy such carefree company. The small, blonde elven girl thanked her hero with a small kiss on the cheek and ran back to her small hut. Isabela watched the heart-warming scene with a smirk. This mage really was something out of a fairy-tale.

No more incidents occurred after that which made their job of collecting the twine go all the more quickly.

"Aha! It ends here!" Aveline observed as the twine went under the door of a resident's home. "Wait this is…" Aveline groaned as she realized whose home she had arrived at. "Merril."

Isabela's curiosity kicked in as they neared the door. She hadn't met Merril yet, but Varric told some very interesting stories about the strange elven girl. 'Daisy this, and Daisy that' was usually how the stories started. Hawke opened the door and follow the twine to a large red ball resting on Merril's table.

"Hawke!" Merril stood up quickly and approached the mage. "You've come to visit!"

"Well actually…"

"Oh you're not here to visit? Sorry, I just assumed with you barging in and all. I'm not saying you have to knock, but… I'm rambling aren't I?"

"It's not that I don't want to visit; I'd love to visit, but I'm here because of this." Hawke held up the red twine.

"You want to borrow some?" Merril cocked her head to the side. Hawke didn't seem the type to get lost so easily.

Isabela's eyebrow arched at the elf's question.

"Merril what were you doing with this twine?" Aveline cut in, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Varric gave it to me in case I got lost like I did the other day. It's been very helpful." Merril smiled.

Isabela broke out into a fit of laughter as she doubled over. Merril jumped a bit at the pirate's reaction and just noticed that she had never met this person, yet here she was in her home.

"Who's that?" Merril pointed.

"That's right, you two haven't met."

Isabela composed herself before walking up to the meek elf. "Varric was right, you have such a lovely persona, isn't that right Kitten? I'm Isabela, captain Isabela."

Merril wasn't sure why this beautiful lady was calling her a small feline, but she didn't mind one bit.

"It's nice to meet you; I've never met a captain before." Merril's eyes sparkled with fascination much to Aveline's disgust.

"We're getting off track." Aveline stated as she took the ball of twine from Merril's grasp. "Merril you can't lace the whole town again. People thought something evil was loose."

"Evil? Why would they think that?"

"Don't you worry yourself too much Kitten, some people are just plain stupid. But there are other things you can do with twine." Isabela wrapped some twine lightly around Merril's wrist, "things that would make little kittens like you purr."

Merril cocked her head again and gave Isabela a quizzical brow.

"Isabela" Aveline growled.

"What Isabela is trying to say is that some people fear what they don't understand." Hawke intervened. "Maybe you could try using a little less twine when you go out, or travel with one of us when you do, or use it for other purposes."

"You would walk with me?" She turned her big, pleading eyes towards Hawke.

"Of course Merril, and I don't live very far from you." Hawke smirked. "It wouldn't bode well if you caught any more children in that red web you left in the alienage."

Merril blushed and nodded as she promised to cut back on her twine. The trio said their goodbyes and headed back to the Keep. Aveline thanked Hawke and disregarded Isabela's crude remarks as they left the guardswoman at the barracks. As Hawke walked back to Lowtown, Isabela decided now would be the perfect time to pick on the mage.

"So… that scarf." Isabela grinned as she observed the stiffness in Hawke's body.

"You know why I'm wearing it." Hawke accused. "You left something."

"Oh did I now?"

"I may not remember, but I'm pretty sure you were the one that brought me home."

"You don't remember?" Isabela feigned a hurtful tone. "Was it that bad? As I recall you were enjoying my attentions."

"What?" Hawke fretted over what Isabela could be implying.

Without warning the pirate pulled the shocked mage into a small, dark alley right beside the Hanged Man, and pushed her against the stonewall.

"Kind of like this." Isabela pulled the scarf off Hawke's neck and pressed her lips where she knew the mark to be. She sucked lightly and drew out the muffled response that she wanted. She pulled away to see Hawke's hypnotized expression and kept their bodies pressed together. "Do you remember now?"

Hawke felt her body surge with heat and excitement as the voluptuous pirate pressed her body onto hers. The deep chocolate eyes of Isabela were pulling her in further as the pirate slid a hand along the mage's thigh. She shook her head and gently pushed the temptress away.

"I don't remember that." Hawke looked to the floor and back up at Isabela's disappointed expression. "But…" She grinned and liked that, for once, Isabela seemed caught-off-guard. The mage pushed the pirate to the wall and pressed her lips against the other's jaw line. She suckled lightly on the pirate's flesh, relishing the slight quiver that went through both of their bodies and the soft moan that escaped from Isabela's lips. "I can at least repay you for what I do remember." Hawke pulled herself off of Isabela and walked out onto the street.

Isabela cursed the mage for her teasing, but didn't see it as a complete loss. The mage was interested and she was a good kisser. She was playing a little hard to get and strangely enough Isabela felt up to the challenge. She joined the mage out on the street as the vendors began to close up shop.

"Now you have one too." Hawke eyed the mark beginning to show on Isabela's neck.

Isabela drew close to the mage's ear and whispered, "Ah yes, my own mark of greatness, or as I'd like to think a down payment on the rest of the things you'll do with my body; same goes for yours."

Hawke's cheeks tinged red as her previous courage and deviousness wore off. Isabela laughed as the mage wished her a goodnight and ran off towards her Uncle's shack. One day she would bed the mage, but for now she was content with their continuous foreplay.