A Long Way to Go (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

Time to Rest

The trip back to Kirkwall was long and not particularly pleasant. Hawke was weary to the point of speechlessness, and spent much of the time curled in a corner of the carriage trying to sleep and failing utterly; Fenris was nearly catatonic with memory; and Varric, left to himself, polished Bianca until there was some danger of him running out of the special, and very expensive, stuff he used on her stock.

All three of them were relieved to alight from the carriage, sending along their thanks to Aveline for the loan, and make their way through Hightown to Hawke's estate. Varric came along without thinking, so used to following Hawke wherever she went that it didn't occur to him to go off to the Hanged Man immediately.

The estate was quiet, no sound but the quiet ticking of the clock above the mantel and the soft hiss of the flames in the fireplace. Hawke was just breathing a sigh of relief when a figure appeared from the shadows.

"Maker's breath!" Hawke exclaimed, leaping back in surprise even as she recognized Isabela. "Why are you lurking in the dark in my house?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Surely there are less startling ways to get my attention."

Isabela ignored the comment, rushing to the point in a way uncharacteristic of her. "It's about Bethany."

"What about her?" Fear gripped Hawke by the throat. If anything had happened to her sister while she was off playing puppet for that Qunari elf ...

"She's in danger. We—She needs to get out of the tower. Out of Kirkwall."

"What did you do, Rivaini?" Varric asked. There was no implicit criticism in the question, but Isabela bristled at it anyway.

"Not a thing, Varric. You know when I don't want to be seen, I'm not seen."

Fenris snorted. "That is an exaggeration at best."

It was a testament to how disturbed Isabela was that she barely glanced at him in response, her eyes immediately coming back to Hawke.

"What happened, Isabela?"

"I was in her rooms at the top of the tower ..."

"What were you doing in Bethany's rooms?" Evelyn asked, confused. "No one's allowed in there. And you can't get in there unless you're a mage."

Isabela shrugged, but she suddenly couldn't meet Evelyn's eyes. "It's child's play if you're used to climbing ship's rigging in a storm."

"Why were—" Evelyn caught herself. "You and my sister are still ...?"

"Come on, Hawke, you had to know," Varric said from behind her. "Everyone else did."

"Everyone?" Evelyn whirled to face Fenris, who nodded slowly.

"You did not wish to be aware of the growing relationship, so I did not bring it to your attention unduly."

"Relationship?" She turned around again to look at Isabela.

The pirate took a deep breath and a quick step toward Evelyn. "You may not want to believe this," she said, "but I love her."

"Bethany? You ... you love Bethany?"

Isabela nodded. "Yes."

"And she ...?"

There was a fierce, happy pride in Isabela's face. "Yes."