A Future to Be Had (a Dragon Age fanfiction)

So Close and Yet So Far

Noises outside the cabin woke Evelyn from another long sleep. She stirred, moaning as the chains shifted. Her muscles were so stiff from the constant inaction they throbbed with pain.

Running feet went past her cabin, and she heard shouts from above her. She strained to discern the words, but they wouldn't come to her. The groggy sleepiness threatened to take her over again, and she fought it, hating that her head was so cloudy and her consciousness so slippery. What was that noise? Had she heard it before long ago? A heavy rolling sound, like big wheels moving. More shouts, these more terse than the others. "Load!" "Aim!" "Fire!" and then the unmistakable sound of a cannon being fired. The ship was going into battle! Evelyn tried to lift her legs, but the heavy chains kept her from moving them far. Should the opposing ship counterattack—worse, should the opposing ship win, and sink the ship she was on—she was in serious danger of being drowned.

Her head was pounding with fear and the effects of whatever drug she was being given. A vague hope surface that maybe the ship being attacked was trying to rescue her. But no, surely not. No one knew where she was. Evelyn rolled over as far as she could, pressing her face against the pillow, trying to stave off both the waves of grogginess that threatened to steal her consciousness away again and the crushing fear that pressed in on her.

Several hours earlier Isabela had roused the entire company of the Temptress with a whoop of glee, explaining, as they gathered around her, that the sailor in the crow's nest had caught sight of sails ahead. They were rapidly closing with the other ship.

No one budged from the deck as Isabela scrambled around the rigging, gauging every tiny shift in the wind, measuring the distance between the ships constantly, and calling down minute adjustments of course to the helmsman. Every eye was glued to the horizon, where slowly a speck appeared, looking ever more like a ship.

When Isabela dropped down in the midst of the tense group for a moment, Freddy spoke up. "Captain, when will the other ship see us?"

She glanced at him. "Good thought, kid. They can see us now."

"What if they're not looking for us?" Bianca asked.

"They will be, Princess. Anyone who knows to take your mother knows we won't let her go without a fight."

At the rail, ignored by one and all, Fenris clenched his teeth. Was he imagining the pointedness of Varric's comment, jabbing him sharply in the back? He should have been leading the attempt to recover Hawke. Damn it, she shouldn't be in danger at all, because he never should have left her. Feeling eyes on him, he looked around and met Varania's gaze. She was perfectly still and quiet, but her mirth at his expense was evident even across the ship.

Dragging his eyes away from his sister, Fenris focused on the dot on the horizon, drawing closer bit by bit. His hands closed around the edge of the railing, gripping the wood tightly as though he could physically pull the two ships closer together.

"Oh, that's a nice one," Isabela said from above him. "Not as nice as my girl, of course," she added, patting the rigging fondly, "but close." She frowned, leaning forward, dangling precariously from the ropes as she strained to look more closely. "That bastard!"

"What?" Fenris asked immediately. "Who is it?"

"Castillon."

From behind him came a choked gurgling sound. Looking around, Fenris saw that Esperanza was on her feet, her fists clenched at her sides. Her fingers were digging into her palms hard enough to draw blood. So Esperanza knew Castillon, then? That was interesting.