Chapter 104

Kirkwall, 9:37

When they reached Hawke's estate, Aedan looked at the place with a surprised grin. "Oh, damn. He's really gone up in the world." He lifted the door-knocker and let it fall, and a loud bang echoed through the house. However, when no one immediately answered, Emma began to worry that Hawke had already left for the Gallows. She cursed the vague timeline that just stated the event occurred in 9:37; but then, thankfully, the sound of footsteps could be heard from within. A moment later, Bodahn's cheerful face appeared at the door. "Lord and Lady Cousland! It's so good to see you both again. Come in, Master Hawke is at home." Emma cringed at the title, and Aedan laughingly told Bodahn that using their first names was fine. The dwarf chuckled, shook his head, and made his way back to Sandal as soon as Hawke came downstairs, with Fenris beside him.

Emma took in their dishevelled state and laughed. "Did we interrupt something?" Fenris blushed, but he wore a lopsided grin that made it clear the two had been doing more than just sleeping. "How about we meet you both at the Hanged Man?" Aedan helpfully suggested.
"Perfect. We'll see you there soon."As the Wardens made their way to the front door, Hawke caught up to them and hugged Emma. "Thank you for talking to Fenris. I don't know what you said to him, but after our first night together, he was ready to walk out the door, but then he stopped and came back to me. I didn't think anything of it at the time, I was just happy he'd changed his mind. It was only later that he admitted it was because he remembered something you had said to him."
She grinned. "I'm glad I could help."

As they walked down the stairs to Lowtown, Aedan grumbled, "I should have known the hugging would start again once we got back to Kirkwall." She chuckled and wrapped an arm around his waist. "I only like hugs from you, love." He pulled her up close and kissed her soundly. "Good answer, Angel." Later that evening, Hawke confirmed that he had gotten his mother out of Kirkwall as soon as the situation between the mages and Templars began to deteriorate. "You should have sent her to us, Hawke. We would have been happy to have Leandra stay," Aedan offered.
"Thanks, but she's gone to Redcliffe to stay with Miriam. They were old friends in Lothering." Varric swallowed some ale, and leaned forward to speak to Emma, "Hawke just didn't want to disrupt your... activities, Bunny."
She stared at Varric in confusion. "Bunny?"
He grinned. "Well, over the last few years, I've had the pleasure of meeting some of your friends; King Alistair, Zevran, and Leliana. Throughout their stories there was always one common denominator: they all said they had trouble sleeping because of the fact that you and your hubby were always going at it like rabbits. I toyed with a few names, but Bunny seemed to suit you the best."
Aedan choked on his drink and looked over to Emma, who was blushing up to her ears. Their eyes met, and in a split second, a wealth of memories passed between them, and they started laughing.

They spent a cheerful evening catching up with Hawke and his friends – the only absentee was Anders. When Emma asked about him, there were a few coughs and a couple of sideways glances at Hawke, who sighed and said, "He's been very secretive over the last few days. I don't even know where he is half the time. Then yesterday he came to see me, and he looked relaxed for the first time in ages. He told me I had nothing to worry about, and then left before I could question him further." She wasn't sure how to take that; it could mean he'd finally made peace with what he was going to do – or maybe, just maybe, he'd changed his mind.

The next morning, Aedan and Emma went in search of Anders, and they eventually tracked him down to the Wounded Coast. He was sitting on a rock overlooking the sea, but turned at the sound of their footsteps, and smiled. "I have to admit; I wasn't expecting to see either of you again."
"Have you planted the bomb in the Chantry?" Emma asked. Her voice sounded calm, but inside her, there was a large knot of worry. He blinked in shock, then laughed. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you know about that. But the answer to your question is no."
He stood up and stretched. "Don't get me wrong. I had all the ingredients, I'd even spoken about the plan to a couple of the underground mages, but in the end, I couldn't do it."
"Yes!" Emma shouted triumphantly as she tackled Anders with a big hug; he laughed and returned the embrace. "That's it! We're never coming to Kirkwall again," Aedan jokingly complained.

On the journey back to the city, Anders explained that a year ago, he'd started talking to Knight-Captain Cullen. The first few attempts had almost resulted with him being thrown in the Gallows, but eventually, the two had gotten past their initial animosity and had become friends. Anders had learnt about Cullen's experience at the hands of Uldred, and Cullen listened to Anders talk about the problems he had with the Circle. It turned out that it was this friendship that had stopped him from taking the final step in his plan. Emma was delighted that Cullen had been instrumental in stopping Anders, and she guessed that the Templar had benefited from talking about the torture he'd endured. However, there was something niggling at Emma, a worrying thought that just wouldn't go away. She pinched the bridge of her nose – a gesture that Aedan recognised, and it usually meant there was a problem. "Something on your mind, Angel?"
She nodded and looked to Anders. "I keep thinking of those mages you talked to. Is it possible they would still go through with this plan?"
His face went white. "I... I don't know. I haven't spoken to them in a while now."
"Okay. Let's get back to Kirkwall and talk to Hawke."

When they reached his estate, they were shown into the sitting room which was crowded with all of Hawke's friends. Emma's heart sank when she saw the worried look on his face, and the letter she'd given him six years ago in his hand. "You've been asked to go to the Gallows," she stated.
"Yeah. Do I still need to evacuate the Chantry?" he asked, confirming he'd read the contents of her message.
"Possibly. There's a chance some of the underground mages might blow up the Chantry." An audible gasp was heard from those gathered, and all eyes turned to Anders, who held up his hands in protest. "I had nothing to do with this. Well, not really," he amended.
"I can get my guards to help out," Aveline said.

Hawke scrubbed a hand through his hair. "I can see Grand Cleric Elthina being stubborn, she refused to leave the last time we asked her."
Emma coughed and flushed. "I did mention that in the letter." Hawke looked down to the piece of paper in his hand, and a few seconds later he let out a shout of laughter. "Well. I guess you know what to do if she puts up a struggle." Aedan leaned over and quietly asked Emma what she'd written. "I told him to knock her out." He sniggered. "Always so practical." It was finally agreed that Aedan, Emma, Sebastian, and a handful of guards would head straight to the Chantry, while Hawke and his friends would make their way to the Gallows.

As they rushed through the streets of Hightown, Emma chewed on her lip nervously. If explosives had been planted, then she had no idea when the underground mages would set off them off. This was a whole new ballgame for her. They burst into the Chantry, and Sebastian went off to find Elthina, while the guards cleared everyone out; some Sisters were digging in their heels, so Emma shouted out loudly, "This is by order of the Left Hand of the Divine. Now move your asses!"
She heard a snort of laughter and saw Donnic laughing. "Is that true?" he asked quietly.
She grinned. "Nope. But I'm very well acquainted with the Left Hand, and I'm sure she'd approve of my misusing her title."

As the halls emptied, Emma started to panic about Sebastian's whereabouts. If Elthina remained alive, then perhaps they could avoid the Right of Annulment being invoked. Just then, the sound of shouting echoed through the empty Chantry. "Put me down, Sebastian."
"I'm sorry, Grand Cleric, but I can't." He dashed past the stunned guards, and Emma couldn't help but laugh at the image of the Grand Cleric thrown over Sebastian's shoulder, her legs angrily kicking in the air.
"Should we see if we can find the explosives?" Aedan asked.
Emma shrugged. "Even if we found the bomb, what would we do with it?"
"Good point, let's get out of here."
The two Wardens walked rapidly towards the door, and that's when he heard a high pitched sound. Aedan grabbed Emma's hand. "Run!"