Hawke was on edge. The girl had assured him that they were doing the right thing, but his instincts screamed at him that he should be anywhere but here.

He let out a shuddering breath, looking at her for reassurance. She smiled, brilliantly, at him, and he felt his shoulders relax. He trusted her. How could he not? She was charming, intelligent, funny at times...beautiful, his brain offered. You always were a fool for a beautiful face.

She was beautiful, that much was undeniable. She was small and slender, with large, dark eyes, a petite nose that scrunched up adorably when she was mad - which she had been, frequently, with him, ever since he'd run into her all those weeks ago in Lothering. Her lips were full, and her hair was dark and lustrous. He often caught himself wondering what it might feel like to run his fingers through that hair.

She had told him that she knew things. Things that hadn't happened yet. Terrible things. She had told him she wanted to help him change the world. At the time, he had been more concerned with surviving the darkspawn horde with his neck intact. But she had saved his brother, when that Ogre had come for him.

A flick of the wrist, and the monster was frozen where it stood. He hadn't seen magic that powerful since his father had died. Even she had seemed surprised by the forces she commanded. He remembered her looking down at her hands like they did not belong to her, the fear in her eyes when she wondered aloud how she had done it. She had told him later that she had reacted on instinct, that she was as shocked as the rest of them to discover she had magic. That didn't make sense, he knew, but she had no reason to lie.

He had to admit, she intrigued him. When she thought nobody was watching, she looked sad and distant. But someone was always watching. He wanted to ask her, he wanted to know where she went when she disappeared inside of herself. He wanted to find out who or what she was thinking of that made her eyes fill with so much sorrow, but she kept him at arm's length, never allowed him close enough to find out.

Hawke had found himself inexplicably drawn to her from the beginning. He'd sworn that he recognised her from Ostagar, but she assured him she had never been.

Maybe I just have one of those faces, she had said.

One of those faces. As if he would ever forget a face like hers. He wondered why she had lied, but he hadn't pushed her. He had been at Ostagar. He had seen the horror. Perhaps she just wished to forget. He could understand that.

They had come to the Wounded Coast, because the mage had arranged for a shipment of lyrium. Upon arriving in Kirkwall, they had found themselves in indentured servitude to a band of smugglers, and the girl had shown a talent for it. In truth, he had too. They each possessed all of the raw materials. They were easy to trust, and even in the short time they had been there, they had earned a reputation as people who could find what you wanted, or disappear whatever you didn't want to be found.

The lyrium, she'd told him, was for her. She needed it, she'd said, because she needed to practice controlling her magic. She hadn't had any formal training, and Bethany was helping her as often as they could find the time.

He trusted this, trusted her judgement, even. But the longer they waited, the louder his doubts grew, until he could no longer ignore them.

"Are you sure this is safe?"

"As safe as smuggling ever is." She replied, with a mischievous grin. "Oh, relax. What's the worst that could happen?"

The sound of approaching footsteps answered her. Hawke froze when the men came into view and he pointed at them.

"That. Templars. That's the worst that can happen."

"We haven't done anything wrong. Yet." She assured. "Just act natural."

She turned to smile, innocently, at the approaching men.

Hawke didn't feel as confident as she seemed to be, and his doubts were confirmed when all four of the men drew their swords in unison.

"You, there." One of the men cried, his voice muffled through his helmet. "Mage. Come with us, willingly, and there will be no need for bloodshed."

"No need, my arse." Hawke replied, drawing his own weapon and stepping in front of the girl, glowering at them, as a fifth Templar approached. "There is no mage here."

Hawke noted the differences in the newcomer's armour. This was no regular Templar. This man had rank, and Hawke knew that if killing Templars did not go unnoticed, killing one of their higher-ups would be like kicking a hornet's nest. He didn't want to bring that attention down on them, not when his sister was trying so hard to stay hidden. But what choice did he have? It was not in his nature to stand back and watch while injustice was done, even when it didn't concern someone he was so fond of. He wouldn't let them have her. They would all just have to live with the consequences of what he had to do.

"Hawke." She placed a hand, gently, on his shoulder. "Ethan. Don't do this. I'm the one who brought this upon us. Let me face the consequences."

"Don't be noble." He replied, over his shoulder. "Noble gets you killed, or worse."

"Listen to your friend." The high-ranking Templar said, drawing his own sword. "This doesn't have to end badly."

She stepped out from behind him, holding her hands up in surrender. Before Hawke could knock her to the ground for her own good, the Templar who had just spoken dropped his sword. He stood, stock still, before removing his helmet and taking a step towards them, his eyes trained on the girl's face.

"You?" The man breathed, looking equal parts confused and amazed.

"Cullen?" She replied, looking as confused as he was.

The man, Cullen, held up a hand to signal the rest of the Templars.

"We were given bad information. This woman is a Grey Warden. Stand down." When the men hesitated he threw a commanding look over his shoulder. "Now. All of you. Return to the Gallows. Report to the Knight Commander. I will meet you back there later."

Reluctantly, the men sheathed their swords, and started to walk back the way they had come, throwing suspicious looks back at them until they were out of sight.

Hawke, the Templar, and the mage stared at one another, uncertainly, before he broke the silence.

"You're a Grey Warden?" He asked, cocking his head at her.

"I...it's complicated?" She replied, shrugging. She turned to the Templar. "What are you doing in Kirkwall?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought you were in Ferelden."

"I thought you were in Ferelden."

"I...wrote to you. I suppose you did not receive my letter."

"You…? I'm sorry, I'm a little lost." She admitted, shaking her head.

"As am I." Cullen replied, narrowing his eyes in concern. "Why would you come here? The last I heard, the blight in Ferelden was a true one. Though, there were doubts. I didn't think you would leave, considering…"

"So...you two know each other?" Hawke asked, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. "How?"

"Well, Lauren here saved my life a few months ago, when I was stationed at the Circle Tower in Ferelden. There was an...incident. She and her fellow Wardens helped to restore the tower to order. We've been keeping in touch...I was worried about you. I hadn't heard from you in...I was beginning to fear the worst."

The girl didn't reply. Hawke looked down at her to see that the colour had drained from her face, and her eyes were wide with shock.

"Lauren?" He asked, confused. That wasn't her name. Or, rather, it wasn't the name she had given him. He recognised it, though. Something nagged at the back of his mind. "Wait...isn't she…?"

"My sister." She whispered, dumbstruck. "She's here?"

"Your sister?" Cullen asked, frowning at her in confusion.

"My name is Emily." She said, as a tear rolled down her face. "Emily Duval. The Grey Warden who saved you from the Tower...Lauren is my sister."

AN: I knooow, another shorty, but I hope the fast upload makes up for it kind of? I wanted to keep this one short and sweet. Next one will be up soon, I swear.

Thank you to all who reviewed the last chapter! Keep 'em coming, they're giving me life.

GrayAngel13: I totally get it, I don't want the Urn's quest dragged out either. I didn't want to write it over a bunch of chapters so I understand not wanting to read it. I'm sorry this chapter is even shorter but I hope the rationale behind keeping it short for the reveal flies with you. I'll be getting back to the longer chapters soon.

Eiris: I thought I'd give you a break from crying, because there's still some angst coming up. Sorry in advance lol

Chimera Spyke: I like that adage. I just hope I can do it justice over the next few chapters...

Playerovic: Sorry for the ID confusion! Oh, man, you have some stellar ideas. Next time I have writer's block, I'm DMing you haha. And I'm with you, I definitely want to explore Valour more in the future. With hindsight, I kind of wish I had brought him out to play the last time she was in the Fade, in the Circle Tower, but I've headcanonned that because she was under the sloth's demon's thrall, Valour was more suppressed than he would have been otherwise. I always loved that reveal in DA2 when you bring Anders into the Fade and Justice is all blue and glowy and his voice has that neat double-timbre going on.