A/N: Well I'm typically writing more than I usually do per day. It's fairly easy to write this actually. Enjoy the read and thanks for the reviews! Expect brush ups to occur to this chapter and the last very soon.

Chapter Six: Duel (Part I)

"Marian! Come down here, I have something for you." Leandra called out for her daughter to join her in the foyer of the newly titled Hawke estate.

Leandra beamed as she soaked in the well-known surroundings and couldn't believe she was living once more in her old family estate. It was by no means as large as some of the other noble's estates in Hightown but it was charming in and of itself. Her entire childhood had been spent in the garden and streets of Hightown. She watched as her daughter descended from the stairs and smiled as she approached.

"I put in an order with Ducille last week and the items have just arrived. Would you like to know what I had made for you?"

Hawke offered a small smile and a quizzical brow, which was enough encouragment for her mother to proceed with the show and tell.

"First off, I've noticed you don't have any sleep wear, or any comfortable clothes to just walk around while at home, so this beautiful robe is just for that." She handed the silk garment to Hawke.

Hawke caressed the fine material with her slender fingers and was amazed at the simplicity of it. Lately she had been surrounded by all manner of gaudy and bedazzled clothing. Whoever this Ducille was, she enjoyed their style.

"It even has the emblem on the back." Leandra pointed out excitedly.

"Thank you mother, it suits me well." Hawke spoke kindly.

"And these," Leandra pulled out a crimson red tunic and tight leather pants. "Are for your rambunctious lifestyle. Fenris helped with the pants. Lately you've been running around in these rags." Leandra poked at Hawke's ragged clothes.

"It's hard to find good clothes. Are these–"

"They're suited for battle. Sandal thankfully worked some enchantment on the tunic."

"Thank you." Hawke smiled sweetly as she pulled in her mother for an embrace.

As Hawke turned to return to her room and presumably change into her new clothes, Leandra took hold of her wrist.

"Dear… stop punishing yourself." She looked at her daughter's fatigued features; she must have been awake all night.

Hawke averted her gaze but gave a small nod to imply that she would try and returned to her room. Nighttime was the worst; it was when the shadows grew taller and the noises all around her kept her in a state of paranoia. Lately she had been shocking herself unconscious in order to get any sleep at all, but the side effects were dastardly the next morning. Her body was scarred from the constant zaps, but it was nothing some healing magic couldn't help with.

She laid the clothes out on her bed and decided to change into her new gear. Since her return from the Deep Roads her fame had sky rocketed and many of the nobles took notice of her bachelorette status. She thanked the Maker that her mother had no interest in pushing her to marry any time soon or ever for that matter. Hawke had met some of her potential suitors, which consisted of both female and male, and while many were very attractive, none interested her. Then there was Isabela… Hawke sighed at the thought of the pirate. They had been having casual sex ever since that night on the docks. The pirate had even visited her Hightown abode and caused quite a ruckus in front of her mother. To Hawke's surprise her mother didn't seem as angry as she did relieved and humored by Isabela's straddling of Marian on the upstairs deck, but she had asked them to relocate nonetheless. As long as Hawke craved the pirate's body, she wouldn't be able to give herself to another fully.

"Oooh what are these?" Speak of the Archdemon herself, Isabela stood right beside the unsurprised mage and observed Hawke's new clothes.

"They're not for you to run off in. The last dress I lent you… well it sags on me now." Hawke removed her pants.

"Are you calling me a fat cow?" Isabela smirked.

"Your breasts are probably more than twice as big as mine are." Hawke muttered as she threw off her current shirt.

"Are they now?" Isabela pressed up against the mage's back and cupped her breasts. "They don't seem all that small to me."

Hawke inhaled sharply, "compared to yours I believe anything is small."

"I believe I once told you that size isn't everything, and that it's how you use them that counts for something." Isabela began to fondle with Hawke's breasts but not for long seeing as the mage was determined to put on her new tunic and pants.

"Not tonight." Hawke bluntly stated as she turned to face Isabela. "I have something to do."

"Surely there's time for at least–" She pressed her lips roughly against Hawke's and tackled her to the bed.

"Isa…" Hawke felt Isabela push her tongue through. "Mmm…" Hawke pushed her to the side and straddled the pirate. "I said," she gave her a quick kiss on the forehead, "not tonight."

"You're no fun." Isabela pouted as she sat up. "What must you do that does not allow for a quick session between the sheets?"

Hawke looked back at Isabela and wondered if she should tell the pirate the truth. It had been two years since her return from the Deep Roads, and today was the yearly marker. Last year she couldn't bring herself to confront her fears, but she had been surrounded by her friends and family long enough to feel strong. Carver had survived the Joining and he was now a Grey Warden. He wasn't all too thrilled about the fact, but in the long run he would realize it was either death or… a slower death. Anders had informed her of the taint and what it eventually led all Grey Wardens to do. Either way he had survived the expedition to some degree.

Tonight Hawke was going to make a quick trip to the exit that her, Varric and Anders had crawled out of half-alive. She was going to bury the very fears that caused her to lash out and hurt the ones that cared for her most. Her temper had gotten so bad that Merrill, who loved flowers, stopped coming by to water her garden when she had exploded on her one day for something trivial. She had apologized to the elf but the poor thing was mortified and only blamed herself for Hawke's tantrum.

"I need to take care of something." Hawke finally replied.

Isabela raised an eyebrow but Hawke did nothing to elaborate.

"Alright then, I'll just head to the Blooming Rose." Isabela dusted off her clothes and headed towards the door.

Hawke watched her leave as she did every night. There was a time when Hawke would have confided in the buccaneer, but experience had taught her that would only push her farther away. She didn't want to be what Isabela considered a clingy woman, and something told her that the pirate was saving her from future woes. Isabela was as much like the sea as any human could be. Like waves she would come and leave, returning to her center whilst leaving everything behind. Their first night on the docks Hawke had let go of all romantic dreams that she had attached to Isabela, and vowed to look at her as a life-sized sex toy that happened to be her friend, but it was hard. There were nights when she wished the pirate would stay by her and Hawke would be able to bask in her warmth.

Isabela bit her lip as she walked away and hoped that Hawke would have a change of libido. She wanted the mage to ravish her as she did often a night whenever Isabela dropped in. The woman was very attentive and she had learned where and how to touch her in all the right places; a talent that few possessed due to the fact that she hardly ever slept with anyone more than twice. However the mage seemed set on doing whatever the hell she was so set on, and it piqued the rogue's curiosity. Isabela waited in a dark hiding spot and watched as Hawke took off towards the outskirts of Kirkwall towards the very place she knew Hawke to hate most– the entrance to the Deep Roads. It was easy enough to track the mage, but Isabela was beginning to feel stupid for following her rather than going to the Blooming Rose. The apostate could handle herself well enough even if she was alone in the wild; there was nothing that her anger and magic couldn't obliterate. Isabela muttered softly as she continued to tag along and scolded whatever innate feeling that was driving her to act out of character.

"Help!" A shriek erupted from nearby.

Hawke quickly turned to where the plea originated and changed her course.

'Good Maker Hawke, don't go playing the hero!' Isabela chased on after her afraid that Hawke would be outnumbered and not care.

"Shut yer mouth!" A haggard voice shouted, "It's yer damned fault. Always walking about in those skimpy rags." He chuckled and nudged another rather greasy man next to him. "Who wants ta go first?"

"I've been eyeing this one for some time." A skinnier but no less greasy man spoke, making the group three in total. "How'd you manage to get her?"

"Easy 'nuff, all I had to do was give her mum a couple of coins and she practically threw her at me." They all laughed.

Isabela waited in the shadows but her heart burned at the familiar story. Mother's selling their daughters for a meager amount of coin. It touched on Isabela's past far too closely for the pirate's comfort.

"Please, let me go… I'll pay back whatever she gave you." The girl spoke quickly, stuttering miserably as her legs trembled.

"Shaddup!" He smacked her hard across the face. "Where are the rest of the men?"

"Jenkins and Barr are on their way, but I say we should test the waters if you catch my drift." The skinny one threw the others a crooked smile and revealed all eight of his yellow teeth.

"Your sausage ain't big 'nuff anyways, go at it." The bigger man waved his hand with indifference.

The girl asked for mercy one more time and just as the skinny man was about to rip her blouse, a shard of ice pierced through his palm. He screeched as he lifted his hand and alerted the others to his distress. The girl with jet-black hair fainted at the sight of so much blood and fell to the floor. Hawke twirled her staff and summoned a tornado of raging fire. Isabela fell back on her haunches as she realized she would be hurling that thing in her direction if she aimed for the three pigs directly. Quickly she ran, as did the three men, and jumped out of the way as the tornado blasted through. Technically she had missed all of them, but Hawke had only meant to scare them. She cackled with laughter and chased after the men. They were running but not fast enough. With a click of her fingers all three of them began to levitate, and with another click the remained perfectly petrified. Hawke positioned them each next to one another and smiled at her handiwork.

"One little piggy, two little piggy, three!" She sung excitedly. "Do you know what happens if I send you pigs off to the city guard?"

They each eyed each other frantically and wondered what kind of freak had taken hold of them.

"I'll tell you what will happen. You'll serve a couple of months before the gallows gets too full of good mages and you're set free due to overcrowding." Hawke spat and glared at each of them. "You three who would have defiled a young girl and marred her for life would have been free to do it again and again and again!" She bellowed as she sparked with electricity. "That's why I'm not going to give you to the guards, oh no…" Hawke gave them her own crooked smile. "Instead I'm going to erase each one of you from Kirkwall… bit by bit." She encased each in ice at a pace slow enough that they would be able to feel the searing sensation spread through their body. She encased everything but their heads. "Now what would you like to lose first? Your arms?" She sent a force blow concentrated on their arms and frowned as they ripped off seamlessly. The men howled but not for long as she sent a flurry of fire and lightning to consume the rest of their bodies… she wasn't in the mood after all.

Her stomach rolled and lurched as she looked at the mess she had made, and it wasn't long before the bile climbed out of her throat and onto the dirt. Isabela lay flat on the ground as she witnessed Hawke clean up after herself. She had heard of Hawke's violent ways of dealing with criminals but had never seen it firsthand and damn was she a frightful woman to behold. Hawke waited until the bodies turned to ash and then foraged for any possible loot. Luckily enough she found at least two sovereigns worth on all three of them. Isabela sighed and thanked the Maker Hawke had enough sense to loot the bodies. With the loot in hand she returned to the girl who had fainted and held her in her arms. Hawke observed the girl's features and was surprised at the beauty she truly was. It was rare for a girl of low birth to be naturally endowed, or to retain her beauty in spite of so many hardships that came with being working class. The girl murmured as she came to and upon seeing Hawke she flinched and cowered, afraid that she had been taken hostage once more.

"I mean you no harm." Hawke spoke gently which caused a hiding pirate to scoff– Hawke was seriously bi-polar! "Those men will never touch you again."

"Thank you, serah…" the girl opened her eyes and searched the face of her rescuer.

"Hawke, just Hawke." She held the girl close, mesmerized by the younger girl's golden irises.

"You're Hawke?" The girl smiled as she acknowledged the name. "I've heard tales of you." She blushed shyly and cast her gaze down.

Hawke felt a flutter in her chest at the sight of such innocence. This was who she had been before… before the darkness had invaded her and taken her light.

"Have you? They must say horrible things about me."

"No, on the contrary, you're a hero. Well there are some scary parts, but…" The girl blushed once more, "I still like the tales."

Isabela watched as the girl drew nearer to Hawke's face and she found herself gripping her dueling blades.

"I'm glad then." Hawke smiled and remembered the loot. "Here, you should take this." She handed the girl her entire coin bag.

Isabela nearly jumped out of her hiding place to take back the coin bag and tell Hawke what an idiot she was being. Just because there was a pretty girl batting her ridiculously fine eyelashes at her did not mean Hawke should just go and give away all the money she had. Andraste's ass, Hawke could save her from being kidnapped anytime if that was what she was going to do.

"If you don't mind," the girl murmured and Hawke looked down at her. "In the tales, they say you kiss the maidens you save."

Hawke felt her jaw drop slightly and wondered if this was Varric's doing. No doubt he added in some sappy line that made all the girls woo.

"Of course I'm not asking for, well I just thought, maybe…" the girl fretted at the mage's silence.

Hawke smiled widely and pressed her lips against the girl's smooth forehead. Isabela held her breath and watched intently.

"I'm afraid I've only kissed one girl on the lips," Hawke replied and pulled away, "and that's the way I'd like to keep it. I'm sorry I wasn't able to live up to the tales."

The girl smiled and gently shook her head. "This was better than the tales." She wrapped her arms around the mage and nestled in the crevice of her neck.

"May I ask for your name?" Hawke held the girl close.

"I'm Arya. Arya Fallon." The girl murmured. "The tales also say you're in love."

"In love?" Hawke was baffled.

"With a pirate who is as untamed as the ocean but more beautiful than any royal gem."

Hawke mentally groaned and knew this had to be Varric's work, but perhaps the dwarf had a point. Isabela merely lay still as she listened to the girl's preposterous claims to Hawke's innermost desires. In love? Hawke? With her? Never. Hawke couldn't bring herself to affirm or deny the claim.

"It's true then isn't it? That's why you can't kiss me." The girl chuckled and removed herself from the mage's arms. "I respect your desires, but…" the girl smirked and Isabela felt that same sharp feeling poke at her heart, "if ever you should fall out of love, I will be willing to catch you."

Hawke remained baffled as the slender girl pulled her off the ground. Had that girl just pegged Hawke as being in love with Isabela, and had she just offered to be her lover if that didn't work out? The mage felt dizzy as the girl's golden eyes sparkled magnificently in the moon's light.

"Will you walk me home?"

"You're going home?" Hawke snapped out of her reverie. "But I thought–"

"Not to my mother," the girl sighed. "I'll take up room and board at the Hanged Man until I get my bearings."

Hawke gulped as she pictured Isabela meeting the beautiful muse that had somehow taken an interest in her. The pirate would take one of three courses, 1. She would not take notice of the girl (which was highly unlikely), 2. She would try and bed the girl (which was highly likely) or 3. She would want Hawke and Arya to join in a threesome. Isabela's ways were not unknown to Hawke, but for the most part she tried her best not to really think of other men and women having sex with her the pirate.

"The Hanged Man? Are you sure, the men there are quite a handful."

"I'll have you know that I'm not as defenseless as I look." She revealed a small dagger on her thigh and another by her waist. "It just so happens that I didn't expect my mother to put a sleeping agent in my tea. By the time I came to, I was already restrained and helpless."

"I'm sorry, about your mother I mean." Hawke scratched the back of her head.

The girl smiled and began the walk back to Kirkwall. Hawke walked by her side while a spying Isabela lurked closely behind.

"It's fine, she's more of a foster mother than anything. I've worked for her as a maid ever since the ship from Ferelden docked here."

"You're from Ferelden?"

"Born and bred." The girl smirked to her mage partner.

"Do you miss it?" Hawke was interested.

"Sometimes I do. I felt so free in the forests near Redcliffe. Before the castle was taken over by a demon, my life was well spent. I worked for the blacksmith."

"You worked for the blacksmith?"

Arya blushed knowing full well that she didn't look like she belonged in such settings.

"I didn't work on blades or anything." She quickly murmured out, "my specialty was bows."

Hawke's eyes brightened as she recalled her fascination with bows. Her memories came flooding in and suddenly Isabela was at the forefront of her mind. A small frown became apparent but she quickly covered it up with a small grin.

"Is that your preferred weapon?"

"It is but they are hard to come by. Well we're here, so…" Arya looked down at her feet before leaning forward and leaving a chaste kiss on the mage's cheek. "Thank you, for everything."

Hawke smiled and nodded before telling her to ask for Varric, and to mention that Hawke had sent her his way. Arya thanked her once more before slipping into the tavern and leaving Hawke feeling a slight ember of warmth. Isabela watched her as a smile lingered and there was even a slight blush on her cheeks. The smiles Hawke gave her nowadays were more naughty than they were innocent. Not that Isabela minded, of course; that was the way she preferred it. So Hawke was saving a little ass on the side for herself, big deal, Isabela didn't mind one bit. Hawke began to walk away and Isabela couldn't stop herself from acting out.

"Hawke!" She shouted and walked out from her hiding spot before the mage could see that she was in fact spying on her.

"Isabela?" She tried her best to not seem nervous. "I thought you were at the Blooming Rose."

"What?" Isabela almost forgot her cover, "No, I mean, yes I was but… I got bored. Yes that's it! I got bored." Isabela chuckled and hoped to get away with that atrocious lie; usually she was quite good at it. "Anyways I thought you had business to attend to." Time to turn the tables, Isabela thought.

"Ah well… I ran into a problem." Hawke half-lied. She hadn't run into just a problem; she had run into a walking vixen.

"And now where are you running to?" Isabela turned on her seduction and laced her arms around the mage's neck. "Anywhere fun?"

"Not really?" The mage turned away and her body tensed; she wasn't in the mood for games right now. "You should go to the Blooming Rose, Isabela." Her tone was tired which was not how it was ten seconds ago when she was talking to the Ferelden bitch she had dragged from the wilds.

"I'm not up for what they're serving." Isabela didn't give up.

"Would you like to join me for a walk then?" Hawke muttered out the suggestion because she knew the pirate was going to laugh at her proposal and say something sarcastic like 'walks are for mabaris' or just respond with a flat out 'no.'

"Sure." The pirate remarked but looked away from the mage's shocked expression. "Why not?"

"Alright then." Hawke relaxed even as Isabela's arms remained wrapped around her. "Follow me." She grabbed the pirate's hand and led her outside of Kirkwall.

Maker how Isabela wanted to kick herself in the face right about now. A walk? Why on Thedas would she want to go on a walk? There was no sex in walks! Well there could be, but there would be none on this walk and she knew it. Damn that Fereldan bitch and her affections for Hawke, and damn the hot, piercing feeling she felt whenever they were near each other. Isabela was not jealous; she was wary of her favorite sex toy being taken from her forever. She had a feeling that Hawke was an exclusive kind of gal, and never really paid that much attention to that characteristic since she was the one fucking her and all. However what if she did bed the Ferelden dog? Hawke would be off the market… and Isabela could no longer receive that rough sex that she cherished so much.

'Balls,' thought Isabela, 'I've just been challenged to a duel.'