A/N: I've just noticed this entire time I was characterizing Isabela as having chocolate eyes when they are closer to honey than anything… Maker's breath I should be thrown to a pack of rabid mabaris! Anyways thanks for all the follows and favorites; I truly appreciate the readership!
Chapter 7: Duel (Part II: Holes)
"So…" Isabela looked ahead, "why are we heading a ways out of Kirkwall?" She chuckled and added, "Is there a party going on that I should know about?"
"I'm afraid there won't be one of those." Hawke sighed but knew how Isabela could be. "I… want to face my fear." She murmured the words into the brisk, night air. Isabela remained silent so Hawke continued as they neared the cave. "For so long I've tried to put this thing behind me, and I've always failed."
They drew up to the cave and Hawke felt a pull from the dark abyss in front of her. Hawke felt powerless, as if the darkness was sapping her courage and strength, putting out the faint light that glimmered from within. Isabela stood by the mage and watched as Hawke stood still. Memories full of sound and vivid images pushed through Hawke's mental barriers and suddenly she felt a cold trickle on her head. Fear embraced her and she felt the need to step back. The pirate felt Hawke's resistance, and without thinking of the consequences to her actions, Isabela stood behind her and grasped her shoulders.
"It's just a hole, sweet thing." Isabela whispered into Hawke's ear. "If you really think about it, all holes are just variations of –"
"Isabela!" Hawke blushed as she pictured what Isabela was speaking of. "How could you say such a thing?" Hawke was laughing as she questioned Isabela's comment.
Isabela smiled and held the laughing mage by the shoulders as her body shook. It had been so long since she heard the mage laugh as joyously as she was doing now, and Isabela had made it happen. The pirate felt warmth spread throughout her as she gave herself credit for Hawke's merriness. Surely this would have to earn her some kind of sexual favor from the chuckling apostate.
"To think you were birthed twice!" Isabela carried on the joke, but this time Hawke came to a slowing halt in her laughter.
"Twice, you say?" Hawke pulled away from Isabela's hands and walked forward, closer to the entrance. "You're right. Out of the shadows and fear, I was born anew and all I've done is tried to bury them. I've let them chase me, hound me and frighten me." Hawke gripped her staff. "I'll face them from now on, embrace what I must and stare my fears 'til they cower before me."
Isabela watched as the mage pulsed with raw magic and stood in awe at the light she embodied. The mage turned back and offered her a wide smile– a smile she had last given the pirate before Hawke set off for the Deep Roads. Here was the Hawke she had been waiting for; the Hawke that she lov –….liked a whole lot, Isabela corrected her foolish mistake.
"Thank you, Isabela." Hawke took her hands and held them up to her lips.
"Don't thank me just yet Hawke, you owe me now." Isabela smirked.
"How can I repay you?" Hawke gave her an honest smile, and Isabela wished that she had a more seductive tone; it was better that way.
"How else would you pay a voluptuous pirate in the middle of nowhere, and now that you have no gold," Isabela laced her arms around the mage's neck once more, "you'll have to use your imagination."
Hawke remembered where all her gold had gone and whom she had given it to, and suddenly she felt nervous. She had turned Isabela down a countless number of times, but never had she done so on anyone's account. Hawke looked the other way even as Isabela's honey gaze demanded her attention.
"Perhaps we could just sit here and… look at the stars, or something." Hawke offered with another dazzling, boyish smile.
"Stars? But stars are so boring…" In truth Isabela loved looking at the stars but usually she was on the deck of her boat.
"I know, I just thought maybe…" Hawke grappled for the right words to say.
"Maybe what? Maybe Isabela could be your princess and do all kinds of silly romantic things all day." Isabela jested but it struck a sour note with the mage.
"That's not it," Hawke shouted back, "but maybe, for once, we could do something I wanted to do! For once it could be something more than just sex!" Hawke clenched her fist and looked straight at the pirate– she couldn't stand the pirate's indifference anymore.
"Anything more than sex is a waste of time, you fool." Isabela looked away from the mage's burning eyes. "Love isn't for me, and you'll –"
"Then I suppose I'm wasting my time, am I not?" Hawke's voice cracked as she brushed past the pirate whom she had come to love. She didn't want to hear anymore; she couldn't bear to hear another word of rejection come from the buccaneer.
Hawke stormed past her, literally. Whether the mage was aware of it or not, she was sparking with electric charges as she walked towards the town of Kirkwall. She caught her breath and slumped on a nearby wall. Even with all her wealth and respectability, she shouldn't be seen losing control of her magic. She had seen the steady rise of mage captives at the hands of the Templars. Hawke had thought the mages would be less bothered now that the Qunari had caused more trouble during their continuous occupation, but the Knight-Commander didn't seem to be diverting her attention at all. She felt the magic come to a steady pulse and wiped the few tears that had managed to make it past her cheek. Isabela would never be able to return the feelings the mage harbored for her, not as long as she remained completely against the notion of love. Hawke ached for her touch, but she wanted more than the rough sex that they both enjoyed countless nights since her return from the Deep Roads. She wanted the pirate's heart.
"Hawke?" A soothing voice pierced through her sorrow.
"Arya!" Hawke quickly composed herself and let out a small smile; she didn't want the young woman to see her like this. "You shouldn't be out so late."
"Are you my parent now?" The girl jested and shrugged. "You're not so much older than me Hawke."
"I may not be older, but I'm more well-equipped. I can't imagine you would get very far in that." Hawke eyed her skimpy dress. It honestly looked more like her outfit minus the pants.
The girl blushed but scoffed and remarked, "It's not like I don't have anything underneath." She looked away but raised the short dress to reveal a pair of very short shorts.
"Ah… I see." Hawke bit her tongue and looked away. "Are you taking a walk?"
Arya smiled and nodded before extending her hand out. "The Hanged Man was a little too rowdy. Would you like to accompany me?"
Hawke eyed the hand gently and thought back to the pirate she had left behind. Isabela would never extend her hand out to her, or offer her company unless it pertained to physical pleasures, yet they had been together for some time. Hawke knew if she began to court Arya, she would have to say no to Isabela's sex invitations. Hawke sighed but put on a small smile and grabbed the girl's hand– she couldn't wait forever.
"Sure, where would you like to–" Hawke would have asked if the girl hadn't began to pull and run off in a random direction.
"I know the perfect place!" She shouted with glee as she jumped over a couple of barrels and crates causing Hawke to almost trip.
Arya continued to climb fences and jump off of walls, until they reached one of the highest roofs in Kirkwall. Hawke was baffled at her acrobatic abilities and wondered once or twice if this girl was more than simply a Fereldan refugee. Hawke kept up thanks to her magic but Maker's breath did she have to improvise. She was sure that she had left a mess down below when she let that gale force push her up. Hopefully Aveline wouldn't catch wind of her late night escapade.
"Here we are." Arya turned to look at the mage. "Well what do you think?"
Hawke looked up and caught sight of the shining stars. The entire sky was coated with tiny sparks that twinkled every now and then. Hawke smiled and sat on the roof before she addressed her partner.
"How often do you come here?"
"As often as I can. It's hard to get away from the squalor and filth that fills all of Kirkwall, but up here it's not that bad."
Hawke felt the girl's hand still clasped with hers and felt a pang of guilt shoot through her. No, she shouldn't feel guilty; Isabela didn't want this part of her anyways.
"Arya who are you?"
"What do you mean?" The beautiful muse turned her head away from the prying mage.
"As far as I know, normal girls can't fly through the air, jump off of walls and scale roofs this high." Hawke smirked as she cupped the girl's chin with her hand.
"They can't?" Arya smiled and pleaded with her eyes for Hawke to drop the subject. "Are you sure?"
"Positive." Hawke drew closer to the girl.
"I may have had a rather strange upbringing I suppose. My family wasn't exactly what you'd call normal."
Hawke noticed the uneasiness with which the girl spoke, but Hawke needed to know whom she was willing to pursue instead of Isabela.
"Try me; I know quite a bit of strange people with strange families. In fact there's this one girl that had a former noblewoman for a mother, an apostate mage as her father and a Grey Warden as her brother."
Arya chuckled at Hawke's reference to herself and replied, "I… my mother was a Templar."
"A Templar? That's not so strange. Though I admit I can't see one of those people being the most amiable suitors."
"Well she was sort of a Templar."
"What do you mean sort of?"
"I wasn't really sure… I was young but she seemed to be affiliated with Templars, though the insignia she wore was different."
"You mean it wasn't a burning sword?"
"No it was a burning eye."
"I'm not sure I follow–"
Arya sighed and looked down at her feet.
"I never knew what it meant either. She was always gone. My father raised me for the most part. He was a mage." Arya looked up again and bit her lip; surely Hawke would think she was a liar.
"Alright so your mother was something like a Templar and your father was an apostate mage. Do I have that right?" Hawke cocked her eyebrow.
"Yes," Arya scanned the other's face for signs of disbelief but there were none. "You believe me?"
"Is there a reason I shouldn't?" Hawke smirked. "It does sound like something Varric would concoct, but you have no reason to lie to me."
Arya felt a shiver run down her spine as the mage's blue eyes rested on her. Hawke felt the tremor and held the girl closer to her than before. Now with their lips practically touching, Hawke began to feel the heat rising between them. She pushed herself and felt the girl tense as the mage's lips enveloped her own. Hawke wasn't quite sure how to kiss the girl since she was so used to Isabela practically feasting on her lips and mouth. She was almost positive that the girl had little to no experience when it came to physical contact of the affectionate kind. With that in mind she decided to do her best at being gentle and as cautious as she possibly could. It was a brief kiss but it left the mage feeling a flutter of joy on the inside.
"But what about your pirate queen?" Arya murmured after the kiss.
"She's a pirate queen, and that's the problem." Hawke murmured as she looked out to the docks. If Isabela could have her way she would already be half ways across the world on a nicely rigged ship. "I can't be what she wants me to be."
"Or is it that she can't be what you want her to be?" Arya asked sincerely as she rested her head on the mage's shoulders.
"Perhaps." Hawke exhaled and looked down at the girl resting on her. "I'm not quite over her yet, but… I'm willing to try." She was being honest; the pirate was still at the forefront of her mind.
"I understand." Arya smiled and replied, "I wouldn't believe your love so shallow that you could forget it in such a meager amount of time." The young woman blushed slightly as she spoke her next words. "I could help you forget faster if need be." The words came out barely above a whisper but they caused Hawke to grin.
"You're a sweet girl, Arya." Hawke rested on the girl's raven hair.
Off on another rooftop a pair of honey eyes watched the pair with a clenched fist. Isabela honestly couldn't explain why she had stalked the mage, but their last encounter wasn't exactly the happiest of moments. The rogue had simply wanted to have glorious sex with the mage, was that too much to ask for? Apparently so since the mage was off fraternizing with the Fereldan dog they had met earlier.
She was out of hearing range but her vision worked just fine, and when she spotted the kiss that Hawke gave the girl, Isabela felt her throat tighten. It meant nothing that Hawke was kissing someone else, but she had refused the pirate's sexual advances so why would she be taking pleasures from anyone else? The pirate detected no potential threat from the Fereldan girl; after all, the pirate was twice as voluptuous and ten times a better kisser than what she just witnessed. Isabela decided she would draw in closer just to see if she could retrieve any news that would prove what Hawke saw in the meager girl.
"Surely any hole of the heart can be filled." Arya spoke as she looked into Hawke's icy eyes.
"Hole?" Hawke flashed back to what Isabela had previously said about holes and involuntarily blushed.
Isabela knew what Hawke was thinking of and bit her tongue to keep her from snorting with laughter. Perhaps this wouldn't be as bad as she thought it would. Even as Hawke sat with the gorgeous Fereldan, she couldn't shake off Isabela's voice and image.
"Did I say something wrong?" Arya was confused at Hawke's sudden bashfulness.
"Oh no of course not." Hawke shook her head and took her head out of Isabela's frame of mind. "I was merely contemplating this hole I may have." The mage gave herself a mental smack on the head as she realized how stupid of a reply that must have been.
Arya felt a presence behind them but when she whisked her head to look no one was to be seen. Hawke followed Arya's gaze and half wished to see Isabela, but upon seeing nothing was half relieved to find nothing. Both shrugged and laughed at their seeming paranoia before they settled into a comfortable silence and continued to stargaze. A pair of hands clutched furiously to the edge of a building, as their owner silently cursed at Kirkwall's flat-roofed architecture. The rogue craftily scaled down the wall and then brushed off the dirt that layered the walls from her blouse. This business of watching Hawke was becoming a dirty habit in more ways than one, and the pirate was in the mood for the Hanged Man's "rat-piss" ale.
As the pirate checked in at her usual stool, a hairy-chested dwarf took the seat beside her. Isabela pulled the mug to her lips and downed the whole of its contents before looking at her long time friend. He grinned at her and paid Corff to send them another round; he had just met the Hanged Man's newest resident a couple of hours ago.
"So I hear your reign's in jeopardy." Varric swished his ale around before downing it. "I've also had time to inspect her and I must say she's a lot like someone I used to know."
"And who would that be?" Isabela downed the next mug and called for another.
"She's a lot like Hawke before than blighted expedition." Varric watched as Isabela devoured yet another mug of ale and frowned. "I thought this is what you wanted Rivaini."
"I said I wanted Hawke to be fun again; there's no fun involved with a taken Hawke." The pirate slammed the cup down, more out of lack of coordination rather than anger.
"I recall you not wanting to deal with all her 'emotional' issues. You could have sex with anyone else. How about Anders, he's a mage; I bet he could do all the tricks Hawke could." Varric snickered at Isabela's disgusted face.
"Anders is the epitome of out of control emotions, and he can't do what Hawke could."
"I suppose Blondie does have his drawbacks," Varric drank a little and watched as Isabela stared into the depths of her shallow mug. "It's not too late Rivaini, but… Hawke's not in it for fun, not anymore." Varric slid off his stool and left the pirate to her ponderings.
"Damned dwarf and his damned advice." Isabela muttered and continued to drink away her thoughts until they muddled into a swirl of black nothing.
Hawke entered the Hanged Man at the odd hours of twilight with some caution but her shoulders relaxed as she realized Isabela was nowhere to be found. Arya knew who she was looking for; Varric had informed her of Isabela's lodging which caused her mild discomfort. She had heard of the pirate's unsurpassed beauty and the aura of desire that she emitted with the mere sashay of her hips. Arya continued to imagine what Isabela might look like from the stories, but was disrupted when they neared her room. Hawke froze as she heard a familiar moan echo off the walls– it was definitely Isabela. She was… but of course she was, thought Hawke. It shouldn't have surprised her as much as it did, but she tried her best to hide it from Arya.
"Are you… alright?" Arya spoke in a whisper and blushed as another one of Isabela's moans resounded in the hallway.
"Of course," Hawke responded quickly. "I'm sorry you have to live in such a…" Another moan– Isabela wasn't trying to be modest in the least, "I should go, Goodnight." With a chaste kiss to the girl's forehead, Hawke left without waiting for Arya's reply.
Arya reached out for the mage, but Hawke was well out of her reach. These 'sounds' must be Isabela's and no doubt the short grunts were of her partner's; Arya blushed as images formulated in her head. The Fereldan resigned to her room but the walls might as well have been non-existent. She closed her eyes and tried to tune out the sounds of pleasure from the girl next door, but darkness only seemed to amplify them.
Then between the grunts and moans, Isabela clearly cried out "Oh, Hawke!"
Arya knew for a fact that Hawke was nowhere near, much less under or above the infamous pirate, but there was no mistaking it– Isabela had called out her name. Regardless of Hawke's claims of the pirate's indifference, Arya had a feeling that the pirate cared for Hawke more than she knew. However, her own feelings towards the mage directed her to keep this tiny bit of information to herself. Telling Hawke would only give her false hope and a constant pain. Arya had never been in love before, or even thought of chasing after such fanciful notions, but the thought of loving Hawke came naturally enough. If the pirate was aiming to lose, then Arya would be grateful to gain. There was little doubt that Arya would be able to fill in the holes left in the mage's trampled heart, but little did the Fereldan know that Isabela was quite skilled with all manners of holes herself.