This is a Murder Mystery, heavily inspired by Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries but it's not a Modern AU. This fic takes place after the events of Dragon Age 2.
A warning: as it is a Murder Mystery, it follows the common trope of an unknown young woman being the murder victim.
Special thanks to Laura E Moriarty for beta reading.

Written for the Ficmas Exchange on the server The Write Moment for Jo.
Merry Ficmas!

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"Lady Amell, would you like another piece of fish ball?"

It takes Hawke a few long seconds to realize that the serving girl speaks to her. Right, she's going by Amell now. The Hawke name has a bit of a bad reputation, currently.

"No, thank you." If she has to eat one more piece of fish, she's going to lose her dinner all over the table. What an introduction into Starkhaven society that would be.

Everyone is here, everyone who is someone in Starkhaven. The nobles, all somehow connected to the Vael family, the leaders of the merchant guild, the trade guild, and the craftsmen. There's even the Grand Cleric of the Chantry at the head of the table, occasionally looking at Hawke with great disapproval. She might be suspicious but she has no proof that Hawke is not Bethandra, the long lost cousin of the rebellious Hawke, daughter to a sister of Leandra Amell and now the rightful heir to the Amell name.

The head of the Merchant's guild stands up and clinks his glass with a tiny silver spoon. He waits for the chatter to die down and then waits a little longer to make sure that everyone is giving him their full attention. Hawke wants to roll her eyes so badly, she feels a headache coming on.

"Friends and Messeres of the Free Marches. Allow me to be the first one to congratulate our beloved Prince to his betrothal to Serah Bethandra Amell, forging an alliance of love between these two distinguished families of the Free Marches."

An alliance of love. The rush of blood in her ears is so loud, it drowns out everything else the merchant says.

Sebastian stands up and Hawke hurries to do the same, smoothing the ruffles on her green dress as she does. She doesn't quite hear what Sebastian says in thanks as she takes in everything she hates about this. The ridiculous ruffles on her dress, the tiny spoons, the pretentious food, the false smiles. The lie about her name and their alliance of love.

"It would help if you could at least smile," Sebastian whispers in her ear. Despite everything, his voice and his accent cause her to shiver. Every damn time.

"Sorry," she whispers back and forces the corners of her mouth to go up. He's doing her a favour, she has to remember that. If not for his offer to betroth her, she would be a fugitive in the hills of the Free Marches. For him it had been a lucrative business arrangement but for her it had been a choice between sleeping on the ground or in a bed.

She didn't accept Sebastian's offer right away. There were too many unspoken feelings between them, too many looks and words that never led to what her heart desired. But after the fall of Kirkwall, after the city turned against her, after illness and injury, being protected by the Prince of Starkhaven as his future wife had been the only positive prospect in her life. And even if it was just an arrangement, at least the Prince is a good man; that she knows. And that she has feelings for him which he doesn't return, is just something she will have to get used to.

Sebastian has finished his speech and after raising her glass and smiling at the faces of people she doesn't know, she can sit down again. Another course is served, again something with fish, eggs and grey vegetables and Hawke forces herself to eat a few bites. She gestures to one of the serving girls, a young elf named Lillbell, and waits for her to come close enough so that she can whisper in her ear.

"Do you think we could add some cheese to this dish by any chance?"

The girl looks at her with wide eyes and shakes her head a tiny bit. "Lady Amell," she whispers, "this dish is a Starkhaven delicacy, it would be an insult to add cheese to it."

"Blast it, I'm sorry," Hawke says. "Thank you for warning me." She takes another sample with the tiny spoon and nods to the woman at her other side, someone important for sure, and smiles as if she enjoys the dish.

The serving girl fills her glass again and leans down to whisper, "There will be Fereldan ram for the next course, my Lady."

"Thank the Maker," Hawke mumbles to herself and takes another long sip from her glass.

The conversation at the table has shifted to problems on the trade route to Ostwick. She can easily tune that out. The serving girls take the Starkhaven delicacy away, much to her relief and set a plate with steaming meat in front of everybody. Hawke notices with delight that she has an extra piece on her plate.

Trying to send a grateful smile to the serving girl, she notices that she seems distracted. As she eats her meat, she watches the serving girls, all of them elves, whisper to each other. They are getting more agitated by the minute. Hawke stuffs the last piece of meat in her mouth and gets up, bundles up her skirt and hurries out of the room before anybody can ask her why.

She finds Lillbell in the kitchen, crying into a handkerchief. She takes her by the arm and leads her out into a quiet corner of the hallway. "What's wrong?" she asks as she sits down with her on a decorative couch. Hawke has always wondered what all these couches were for, nobody ever sat on them. At least now it's put to good use.

Lillbell sniffs once more into her handkerchief. "Mahanel has disappeared. She is one of the older girls, she is allowed to go out on her own. But she didn't come home for three nights and now..."

Another sob shakes her and Hawke pats her back awkwardly while trying to remember who of the many elves in the Vael household was Mahanel. In the four weeks she's been here, she didn't exactly pay attention to the people keeping the household running. Rather shameful of her, as someone who knows what it's like to work at the bottom rung of society.

"They found a body at the port," Lillbell says.

"Who?"

"The guard," Lillbell says with another sob. "They say it's an elven girl." Now she cries for real and Hawke pulls her into her arms.

Lillbell looks up to her. "What if it's Mahanel?"

Hawke hesitates only a moment. Oh, how she has missed this, doing something, solving problems. Finally something more exciting than new biscuits at tea.

"Do you know where the guard station is?"

Lillbell nods.

"Then let's go, we'll find out if it's Mahanel."

"But Lady Amell, I can't just go!"

"Why not? I need a companion to show me around town, or else I might get lost. The Prince wouldn't like me to get lost, don't you think?" She knows she is manipulative and that the poor girl doesn't stand a chance against her. Hawke has negotiated her way out of much more difficult situations before. When this is over, she will apologize but for now, she needs this, she needs to get out, she needs to do something.

"I have to ask the housemother first." Lillbell looks as frightened as if that means facing the Maker himself.

"Why don't we do that together?" Hawke has met the housemother on the day Sebastian brought her into his palace. She knows why Lillbell looks so frightened, the woman would make a dragon shit themself if she stared at them.

She follows Lillbell to the back of the kitchen, where the housemother oversees the bustle of the kitchen, occasionally calling out a command to the elves working around her. The elven woman looks like a hardened commander on a battlefield and she's obviously doing a great job. The kitchen is busy without being hectic and all courses are served on time.

"Serah Gilea, may I have a word?" Hawke says, giving her her sweetest smile.

"Yes, Lady Amell?" The woman regards her with an icy look.

"I would like to take Lillbell with me as my companion from now on, could you arrange that her schedule is adjusted accordingly?" Hawke keeps the smile up on her face like a weapon.

"I didn't know you were in need of a companion, I can have one of the older girls assigned to you."

"I'm quite happy with Lillbell, I would prefer her to be assigned to me." Hawke's cheeks begin to hurt from smiling.

The housemother frowns but nods. "Very well, my Lady, I will ensure that Lillbell will wake you from now on and accompany you during the day."

"Thank you, Serah," Hawke says, deliberately using the respectful address again. Gilea isn't the first person sitting on a throne of their own making that Hawke needs on her side for a while.

Lillbell hands her a coat and wraps herself in a cape, while Hawke hides a dagger in the bag at her hip. She picks up the decorative walking stick that she supposedly uses because of an injury that gives her a slight limp. The injury is real but the stick is enchanted to be used as a staff, in an emergency. Sebastian has strongly advised to hide her magic and she has no intention to endanger their fragile connection if it isn't absolutely necessary.

The evening chill creeps under her skirt as Lillbell leads her out of the palace gardens and to the gate of the inner wall. The air smells of water from the river. The roads turn dirtier, the further they get away from the promenade around the palace. Hawke hitches up her pastel colored, ruffled dress with one hand. The hem of her skirt has already turned a muddy grey.

"I'm ruining this dress." She sighs and takes a long step over a puddle in the street.

Lillbell's skirt ends just above her boots, a smart design. "I'm sure the Prince will buy you a new one," she says with an edge in her voice.

Hawke looks up at that. "Is something wrong?"

"You could have asked, my Lady."

"Asked you what?" She stares at the elven girl, whose face is drawn in a frown that makes her look much older than she initially guessed her to be.

"I had a good position there, I would soon have been head server."

"And now you have to waste your time with the poncy lady, I get it." Hawke sighs and stops Lillbell in her angry walk with a hand on her arm to make her look at her. "You're right, I should have asked you. I'm sorry, I won't force you to do this. Just help me today and then you can get your old position back."

Lillbell nods, her frown softening. "Thank you, and I'm sorry for speaking out of turn."

"Oh, please do that all the time." Hawke starts walking again, her eyes on the ground to avoid loose cobblestones but she can see Lillbell looking at her out of the corner of her eye. "I wasn't always a poncy lady, you know? I lived in some hole near the sewers and had to contract myself out as a working slave for a year once. I never could have afforded even a single glove of a dress like this."

"But I thought the Amell family is rich?" Lillbell says with wide eyes.

"Not really. I...I... Hawke earned enough money to buy the estate back and establish the name again and I have connections that are... valuable, but I didn't bring riches to Starkhaven, believe me."

Lillbell is quiet now, occasionally looking at Hawke as if she expects her to grow horns. Hawke wonders what kind of rumours were going around in Starkhaven about her, what Lillbell thought she was. She had expected even more hostility, to be honest. Surely some people must at least suspect that the appearance of an unknown woman in the Amell line was a little bit too convenient.

"There's the city guard station," Lillbell says after a long silence.

The guard building isn't exactly pretty but it looks old and sturdy. The guard at the door studies them intensely but lets them in without addressing them. Lillbell keeps behind Hawke, eyeing the humans with the kind of guarded suspicion that Hawke remembers well from the elves in Kirkwall's alienage.

"I'd like to speak to the Guard-Captain about the body found in the port." Hawke stands as tall as she can, her hand gripping her "walking stick" a bit tighter.

"And you are?" The woman in shiny armor leans in the doorframe and looks critically at Hawke's dirty dress.

Hawke uses her most dazzling smile. "Bethandra Amell, soon to be Vael."

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Lady Amell? My name is Guard-Captain Donaren. I have heard about you."

"Really?"

Guard-Captain Donaren invites her into her office with a gesture and Hawke makes sure that Lillbell stays close to her side when she goes inside.

The Guard-Captain closes the door and goes over to her desk. She picks up a scroll and unrolls it. "I received a letter from Guard-Captain Aveline Vallen-Hendyr in Kirkwall. She wrote me to tell me that you, the soon to be Princess of Starkhaven, will probably show up on my doorstep at some point."

Hawke waits, guarding her expressions.

"I don't know how she knows about you, but she says here, 'if you ever have a pesky problem that you can't approach with your guardsmen, tell her and she'll be terribly annoying about it but will eventually find a solution'." The Guard-Captain looks up from the letter. "And now you're here."

Hawke leans forward. "How interesting. And do you have a pesky problem like that?"

"Follow me." The Guard-Captain walks out and leads them through a long hallway.

Lillbell hurries to walk besides Hawke and clears her throat. "Guard-Captain, we're looking for a missing elf, Mahanel."

The Guard-Captain looks at Lillbell and nods. She leads them out of the building, over to a shed near the embankment. It's noticeably cooler here, near the river. The Guard-Captain unlocks the door to the shed and opens the door. Instantly Hawke recoils from the smell, the smell of rotting water and death. She fishes a handkerchief from her bag and hands it to Lillbell as she holds a glove over her mouth and nose.

A body, covered with a piece of cloth, lies on a bench. The Guard-Captain gives them a meaningful look before she pulls the cloth away from the face. The sob from Lillbell is enough explanation. She runs outside but Hawke steps closer to the corpse and looks at her. This isn't the first corpse she has seen by far and it's also not the first body of a drowned person she has seen. In this case, the marks on the corpse's throat tell her that she probably didn't even drown.

When she is satisfied, she nods towards the Guard-Captain and goes outside to look for Lillbell.

"It's Mahanel?" she asks when she finds Lillbell outside.

The elven girl wipes tears away with Hawke's handkerchief. "Yes, it's her."

"I'm sorry."

The Guard-Captain locks the door to the shed. Hawke turns to her.

"So, how did she die?"

The Guard-Captain shrugs. "Isn't it obvious? She drowned. We found her two days ago in the river."

"If she drowned, why does she have strangulation marks from a rope around her throat?"

The Guard-Captain presses her hand against the door of the shed and sighs. She is silent for a while before she turns to Hawke and Lillbell. "Listen, another corpse from the river — it's nothing special around here. And this girl is..."

"Just another elf," Hawke finishes for her.

The Guard-Captain at least has the decency to look mortified about this. "I have about four guards here who know what they're doing and ten more who don't. I don't have the resources to investigate this. If you want to look into this, go ahead. If you find anything, I can take it to the Prince."

A pinch bites between Hawke's shoulders. "The Prince? He decides what gets investigated by the guard?"

"Well yes, we are officially the royal guard for the Prince."

Hawke hesitates only a moment. "Fine, I'll investigate this. I need to look at the body again, before it's taken away." The Guard-Captain nods and opens the door again. "Lillbell, come with me."

"But my Lady..."

Hawke takes her hand and puts her own hand on top of hers. "I need your help. You knew her, you have to look if you see anything unusual about her."

The girl is white as a sheet but she nods and follows Hawke into the shed again. Hawke pulls the cloth away, revealing a thin girl with long dark hair in a big dress of dirty yellow. Her clothes have dried by now but there still algae tangled up in her hair. Lillbell slowly steps closer, the handkerchief pressed to her face as if she wants to prevent herself from screaming.

"Close the door," Hawke says. As the girl's back is turned, she quickly lights up two lanterns with her magic, before Lillbell can notice it. Then she waits for Lillbell to gather her courage and step closer to the dead girl. She is terribly pale but she picks up the cuff of the dress with her fingertips and looks closely at it. "The dress, that's not hers."

"Yes, I thought it looked too big for her."

"But it's also much too nice."

"How can you tell?" Soaked in river water, the yellow dress has turned brown and looks like a sack on the thin frame of the dead girl, no matter how nice it may have been one time.

Lillbell picks up the hem of the skirt with her fingertips and turns the seam up. "I think it was tailored for a shem girl, by the antivan seamstress Goleria. See here," she points to a small cross stitch at the end of the seam, "that's how Serah Goleria finishes her seams. She's very good but expensive."

Hawke gives Lillbell an encouraging nod. "We have to take the dress with us."

Lillbell jumps back. "I'm not touching her!"

"I'll do it." Taking a breath through the fabric of her glove — it's not like she does this all the time and the smell is still atrocious — she turns the body around and unties the laces on her back. But the body is stiff, she can't get the dress off. Finally, she cuts it on the sides and slides it off. "It has been ripped before, there's piece missing here."

"A shame for the pretty dress." Lillbell has come closer again and looks at the underdress. "My Lady, here." She points to something pressed to the breast of the corpse under a simple chemise.

"Lill, you have to stop calling me that, just call me Haw— call me Betha."

"I don't think I can do that, Lady Amell."

"I'm sure we'll find a way of you calling me anything but My Lady, if possible. Now, what do we have here?" Hawke pulls two pieces of paper out of the fabric. The water has washed the ink out, on both of them, only a few words are readable.

"This here says 'Mo' and 'Gardens' and 'night', the rest is gone." She carefully unfolds the other piece, it has been folded several times and bits of ink are still readable in the wrinkles. "Var lath..." Hawke reads out and turns the paper around. "Here it says 'lath' again, what does that mean?"

"It means love, maybe someone loved her." Lillbell sniffles into her handkerchief.

"And someone strangled her." Hawke pulls the blanket back over the body and stuffs the dress in a bundle under her belt, hiding the bulge under her coat. Bidding the Guard-Captain farewell, she hurries to leave this corner of the city with its rotten smells, Lillbell right by her side.

"Where is that seamstress, Serah Goleria?" Hawke asks.

"In the upper city but I'm not sure if she's open today. She likes people to make appointments."

"Well, we all like many things." Hawke could make a list. For instance, she would very much like to stab people with her "walking stick". On top of that list would be all the guild leaders at the dinner tonight with their pretentious smiles.

Hawke stops and stands frozen in the middle of the road. The dinner. The dinner she simply left without telling anybody.

"My Lady?" Lillbell asks and leads Hawke to the side to get her out of the way of a carriage.

"Nothing, just trouble in the near future. It can wait." She shakes her head and picks up her long strides again, only to realize that her hip hurts when she does that and she is now forced to walk with short steps like the lady her mother always wanted her to be.

Despite her slower walk, they arrive at the tailor's store before the sun has sunk behind the city walls. Hawke tries the front door but it's closed. But a small alley leads them behind the shop, where fabric is aired out on a washing line and a few elf girls use the last bits of sunshine to work on their seams. Hawke halts at the back entrance and unties the stolen dress from her hip.

"Lill, here," she hands the tattered dress to the girl, "I think it's better if you talk to them. Ask them if they know who had that dress made."

She watches as Lillbell talks with the elves. Occasionally they look at her and she gives them a friendly smile but they quickly look away. Hawke remembers this kind of distrust well.

"Messere Kalden," Lillbell says, pulling Hawke out of her thoughts.

"Who?"

"Messere Kalden, the wife of the merchant guild leader, she had that dress made for her younger daughter. They remember it because she got angry that it didn't look as nice as she had thought it would."

"Why was that?"

"Something about the yellow being unflattering and the cut not fitting. Serah Goleria had to make her a new one because the Kaldens are important people in Starkhaven and not the customers you want to lose."

Hawke walks slowly back in the direction of the palace. "How did Mahanel get this dress? What did she have to do with the Kalden family?"

"I don't know," Lillbell says, twisting the fabric of the dress in her hands.

"Did she have a close friend, a lover?"

"I think she had a friend, a secret friend. Sometimes she was just gone for hours."

The cobblestones turn slippery from dew as the evening approaches and for once Hawke is grateful for her walking stick. Still, even with the stick, she is in no hurry to get back to the palace.

"Lady Amell? What are we going to do now?" Lillbell looks at her with wide eyes.

"First of all I'll have to explain to the Prince why I vanished from the dinner and then, after apologizing profoundly for that, I'll ask him if he lets me investigate this case."

"What if he says no?"

"Then it's up to the guard, I guess."

"No." Lillbell grabs her arm and pulls her to the side. "They won't do anything, not for an elf."

Hawke avoids looking at the girl in all her fury. "I know."

"You can't just — "

"I'm nobody here," Hawke interrupts her. "Believe me Lill, I know I'm infinitely better off than any elf in the alienage but all the standing I have here is borrowed. If the prince decides to kick me to the curb, I'll live on the streets."

Lillbell stares at her, the anger in her face slowly evaporating. "But you'll be a Princess soon."

"Maybe then I can do more." It's out of her mouth before she can stop herself. Varric would laugh at her if heard it, how she is trying to save a city once again.

"You will forget about it," Lillbell says harshly.

"I won't." Hawke knows there's no convincing her. She will just have to keep this promise.

The palace is lit up by countless torches and the armored guards at the gate glimmer golden in the light of the flames. They step in her way but upon recognition bow respectfully and let them through. Hawke wonders if they all got a picture of her that they had to memorize for guard duty.

"I think the guests are gone," Lillbell says.

Hawke sighs, ignoring the gnawing dread in her gut. "Yes, at least I don't have to explain to all of them why my dress got dirty." She turns to Lillbell. "I think we're done for tonight, I'll see you in the morning then?"

Lillbell almost sneers but quickly controls her features. "Thank you, my Lady," she says with a perfectly blank face.

"Don't... don't do that. I'm not ordering you, just..." Hawke knows how fruitless this is. She doesn't want a servant to order around, she wants a companion, a partner, someone who sticks around because they want to. She wants her friends back.

She waits for the elf girl to disappear in the servants door and climbs up the stairs to the illuminated heavy door to the palace. A servant opens it for her before she reaches it, he must have watched her approach.

"His Highness wishes to see you right away," the elf says. He turns and starts walking down the hallway, not looking if Hawke is even following.

He leads her through the hallway in silence until they reach a door at the far end of the palace. He knocks sharply and opens the door for her to step through. She's never been in this part of the building and is pleasantly surprised to find herself in a cozy room with bookshelves on the walls and two armchairs in front of a fireplace. There's also a small desk at the window and Sebastian rises from the chair in front of it.

"Hawke, where have you been?"

"I'm sorry I left like that, I swear I didn't mean to be rude."

Sebastian comes closer to her and takes her hand in his. "My dear, I was worried. Where did you go?" He looks down her dress, taking in the frayed and dirty hem. "What in the blazes were you up to?"

Her heart seems to beat right up in her throat when he looks at her with his startling blue eyes. "I was... there was a girl missing and they found a body at the river."

Sebastian's forehead wrinkles in confusion. "Who was missing?"

"Mahanel, one of the serving girls. Lillbell told me about it and then we went down to the guard."

"You went down to the guard building on your own?"

"Lillbell came with me."

"You went down into Lowbank, alone, with just an elven serving girl accompanying you?"

Hawke leans back and smirks at him. "Are you telling me that Starkhaven is more dangerous than Kirkwall?"

Sebastian sighs and shakes his head. "No, I guess not." He strokes over the back of her hand with his thumb but catches himself and drops her hand as if it burned him. His startling blue eyes find hers again. "But I would prefer if you wouldn't run away from a dinner with Starkhaven's finest without telling me where you're headed from now on."

She desperately draws in a breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that, I just... when I heard about the body being found, I knew we had to move fast." She dares to look into his eyes again, willing her heart to stop jumping in her chest. "I'm sorry I embarrassed you in front of your friends."

Sebastian looks away and leads her to the armchairs, gesturing to her to sit down. "These people are hardly my friends," he says as he sits down himself. "I told them that you didn't feel well and no matter what they think, I'm supposed to tell you of their well wishes and how they hope that you'll feel better for the race overmorrow."

There's enough distance between them now that Hawke can breathe again. "The race?"

"The boat race. Starkhaven's best oarsmen compete in a traditional race upstream. You are expected to hand out the victory trophy."

"Of course." She nods and stares into the fire to gather her thoughts. "Sebastian, I need your help."

"Aye?"

"That dead body they found in the river, it was Mahanel. And she was strangled. I want to find out who did it."

"Hawke," Sebastian says warmly, "I'm not sure you're aware how precarious your position is, even as my soon to be wife. And now you want to risk that for a dead girl, an elf, who you didn't even know?"

"Is that it? That she's just an elf?" Now she dares to look into his dangerous blue eyes.

"You know what I mean."

"Do I?" She holds his gaze until he averts his eyes.

"I should have known," he says with a smile playing on his lips. "After Kirkwall, Starkhaven must look like a simple project."

"Not if a girl gets murdered and nobody even tries to find out who did it."

Sebastian stands up and strolls over to his desk. "And it is I, who can grant you permission to investigate."

"You're the Prince."

"Head of the Guard," Sebastian says with a chuckle. He leans down and writes an order on the official paper of Starkhaven and signs it with his seal. He rolls up the scroll, careful not to break the seal and holds it out to Hawke. "I'm sure I will come to regret this."

Hawke gets up and takes the scroll from him. Their fingers almost touch and she bows her head to hide the blush of her cheeks. "Thank you, Sebastian."

"Will I see you for lunch tomorrow?"

"Of course," Hawke says, hearing the dismissal. She leaves the room as Sebastian sits down at his desk, turning his back to her. This part of his life, the Prince, the royal leader, is hidden from her.

*~~~(())~~~*

"Lady Amell, wake up. Lady Amell, your breakfast is ready."

Hawke tries to say something but only manages some inarticulate grunts.

"Lady Amell, your breakfast."

Hawke clears her throat. "Yes, I heard you, don't call me that." She sits up, stretching her neck to feel for the first signs of a headache. But unlike many other mornings here in Starkhaven, today her head and her neck feel fine.

"Messere Amell, where should I put your breakfast?"

"Just on the desk, thank you Lill." She tiptoes over the the washroom and Lillbell runs into her back when she stops. "You don't need to help me with this, I can wash myself on my own just fine."

"Oh, I see." Lillbell looks genuinely surprised.

Hawke sends her off, assuring her that, yes, she can indeed dress herself on her own, and she'll find her later in the kitchen. The girl looks skeptical but leaves with a bow. Hawke shakes her head, she knows she can't boast with her past, now that she lives here under a new name. But she would love to tell Lillbell how often she slept in the dirt and had to dress herself under the stars.

Later, Hawke finds Lillbell in the gardens, pulling weeds.

"Time to wash up, my dear," Hawke says, "we're going to visit the Kaldens."

"Very well, Lady Amell."

Hawke gives up on correcting her for now and waits in the sun for her return.

"You're going to get freckles," Lillbell says when she returns. She wears a green dress with a red belt that every elf in the palace seems to wear. Hawke wonders if it is some kind of uniform and if Lillbell even owns clothes of her own.

"And freckles are bad?" Hawke touches her cheeks, warm from the sun.

"The other ladies don't want them."

Hawke shrugs. "The sun is too nice to not enjoy it." She starts walking towards the gate and waits for Lillbell to come up at her side. "Do you know how to get to the Kalden residence?"

"The guild house is right behind the palace gardens," Lillbell says. They follow the winding rose path towards the garden gate. She opens her mouth a few times as they walk but doesn't say anything until they stand in front of the pompous house of the merchant's guild.

"Lady Amell?"

"Yes?"

"Are you just going to ask the guild master what he knows? He probably doesn't even know how some elf got clothes from his household."

"You're probably right but I intend to ask Lady Kalden. I bet she does remember."

An elf in golden finery leads them into a study full of golden picture frames and candelabras. The whole house seems to be golden, no matter where they look, something blinks and glows in gold.

"Not even the palace looks like this," Hawke says under her breath.

Lillbell looks at her with wide eyes but before she can say anything, Lady Kalden sweeps into the room in a cloud of pale blue velvet and silk and a cloud of perfume that makes Hawke's eyes water.

"My dear Lady Vael, I'm so glad to see that you are feeling better."

"Thank you, Lady Kalden but I'm not a Vael yet."

"Ah, such details should be ignored," Lady Kalden says with a dazzling smile on her powdered face. "I don't know why they didn't let you marry right away, this tradition of a seven weeks in engagement is quite outdated."

She gestures to two heavy chairs with red velvet cushions for her to sit down. "Fidden will bring us tea." Lady Kalden arranges her voluminous dress on the chair and sits down carefully. Hawke sits down too, her simple dress not quite so difficult to arrange. Lillbell stands beside her and Hawke wonders how much of a break in etiquette it would be to ask for a chair for her.

The elf in the golden suit serves them tea and then leaves. As he closes the door, he gives Lillbell a strange look.

"Now, Lady Vael, what brings you into my house?" Lady Kalden lifts the cup of tea to her mouth but doesn't drink of it yet.

"What do you know about an elven girl of the name Mahanel?'

The dainty tea cup clatters disturbingly as Lady Kalden sets it back down. Tea spills over the rim and fills the plate underneath. "Why would you ask me this? Why should I know this elven girl?" She looks up to Lillbell. "Is that her?"

"No, that's my assistant. I'm asking you because she wore a dress that you had Serah Goleria make for your daughter."

"I don't know how an elf got her hands on an old dress from my daughter," Lady Kalden says, louder than necessary. "We often donate clothing to the chantry, maybe she got it from there. Why don't you ask her?"

"She's dead, unfortunately," Hawke says.

Even the layers of powder can't hide how pale Lady Kalden turns. "Dead? But..." She visibly pulls herself together. "I'm afraid I can't help you, Lady Amell."

Hawke gets up, bowing her head to the Lady Kalden respectfully. "Then I have to apologize for intruding on your time like this. Forgive my impertinence."

One has to admire the iron control Lady Kalden has on her expression. The way she gets up and smiles would be befitting for a queen. "Oh, it was no trouble at all, Lady Amell, I'm sorry I couldn't help you. Please feel free to call on me any time."

"Thank you," Hawke says with the hint of a curtsey. "Will I see you at the race tomorrow?"

"But of course, I'm so looking forward to it."

Lady Kalden leads her towards the front door as best as she can without actually pushing her. "Please give my greetings to the Prince."

"The Prince?" The loud voice of Lord Kalden, the guild leader, bellows through the hallway. He stomps towards them, a slim man with blond, almost white hair following in his shadow.

Lady Kalden flinches and takes a moment to control her features before she turns to her husband with a dazzling smile. "Lady Amell was just asking about an incident with an elf, she and— " she looks at Lillbell and seems to search for the right word, "— and her assistant were just leaving."

"What kind of incident?" Lord Kalden looks from Hawke to his wife and back, a smile on his lips that looks as fake as the hair on his head.

"Something about an unfortunate elven girl, who was found dead in an old yellow dress from Gerlind."

"How strange," Lord Kalden barks out.

Lady Kalden puts her hand on her husband's shoulder, calming him. "I already told Lady Amell that we don't know anything about this. I can't keep track of any old dress we give away to charity."

Hawke bows her head. "I understand, Lady Kalden, do forgive me for my disturbing questions." She looks up to the guild leader and tries to give him a friendly smile. "Lord Kalden, Lady Kalden, I hope to see you at the race, have a good day." Over the shoulder of the Kaldens, she catches a glimpse of the young man, who stares at her with wide eyes.

She turns and hurries down the stairs, Lillbell right beside her. They walk back to the palace gardens and Hawke checks over her shoulder to see if they are followed.

"Maybe they really gave the dress away, it's possible." Lillbell says. "What do we do now?"

Hawke grins. "Now we find out why the Kaldens lied."

"You think they know about Mahanel and the dress?"

"Oh yes, they know," Hawke says, her grin getting wider. "Remember what she said to Lord Kalden? 'An unfortunate elven girl, found dead in an old yellow dress from Gerlind'."

"And?"

"I never said that the dress was yellow," Hawke says with a wolfish grin.

Lillbell's eyes go wide. "Yes! You didn't." The girl stops and pulls on Hawke's arm. "But what are you going to do now?"

"Do you have an idea?" Hawke watches her carefully. Lillbeel is still not the companion she wishes her to be but at least she seems to have warmed up to her.

"I could ask the other girls if they know who her secret friend was," Lillbell says, wringing her hands as she speaks.

"That's an excellent idea." Hawke picks up the pace again, her walking stick rhythmically tapping on the cobblestones of the road. She takes the route through the palace gardens again, this time deviating from the rose path onto the path to the servant entrance.

Lillbell goes inside but seems to be surprised that Hawke follows her.

"Lady Amell, the housemother doesn't like it when the nobility come down here."

Hawke grins at her. "Oh, I very much do not care."

The housemother scowls indeed when she sees Hawke walk behind Lillbell but she deliberately turns away, deciding to ignore the intruder.

Lillbell goes straight for the dormitories, where the young girls live. The rooms are large and hold ten beds each. Hawke stands back and lets her do the talking until she waves her over.

"Lady Amell, this is Stefina, she worked with Mahanel in the laundry," Lillbell says. She turns back to the elven girl. "Tell Lady Amell what you know."

The girl wipes her hands on her apron, her eyes nervously flicking up to Hawke. "Mahanel had a friend, a boyfriend. She met him down at the docks, once or twice during a week. He sent her letters through the guards and then she would go out at night." The girl hands Hawke a small piece of paper. "That's one of the letters."

Hawke looks at the paper and holds the wrinkled paper from the dead body next to it. Even though the ink is faded, the handwriting is recognisable the same. "Do you know where they met at the docks?" she asks quietly.

"There's little sheds for storage there. Some sailors use them for sleeping. She told me that he made one of the sheds pretty."

"Who is he?"

"She never said but he's some poncy shem boy. Has money." Stefina wrinkles her nose in barely hidden disgust when she says 'shem'. Hawke very much ignores this.

"Thank you for the information, if you can think of anything else, please let me or Lillbell know."

The girls nods with wide eyes. "Yes, Lady Amell."

Hawke leaves, she knows that she makes the girls uncomfortable. As she waits in the hallway for Lillbell, thinking the case through, someone clears their throat behind her and she lets out an embarrassing squeak.

"I apologize for startling you, Lady Amell," the housemother says.

"It's no matter, I was just lost in thought."

The housemother takes a deep breath and some of that iron guard around her drops. "I heard that you're trying to find out what happened to Mahanel."

"Unfortunately I know what happened to her," Hawke says quietly, "now I'm trying to find out who murdered her."

The housemother nods. "So I heard. Lillbell told me that you are sincere in your efforts and I have something to give you that might be important." She takes a thing out of the pocket of her apron and hands Hawke a small key on a chain. "When Mahanel didn't come home for the second night in a row, I looked through her things to see if she left a note and I found this key. I took it with me to compare it to our keys here and I'm certain it doesn't belong to anything in the palace."

Hawke studies the key, it looks rather simple and domestic. Nothing royal about it. She slides the key into her bag and gives the housemother a grateful smile. "Thank you, I'll let you know what I find out."

"I appreciate it, Lady Amell." The housemother bows her head and turns away but Hawke calls her back.

"Serah Gilea, maybe you can help me with something?"

"Yes?"

"Is there a garden around here, famous for being a romantic place to meet?"

The housemother looks thoughtful before nodding. "I have heard that the young people love to meet in the Moon Gardens, outside of the palace walls. Lillbell can show you where it is. I'm afraid, I don't know any other romantic places, it's not quite, ahem, in my interest," the housemother says, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

"Thank you Serah, that was very helpful."

The housemother goes back into her kitchen just as Lillbell returns from the dormitories.

"Anything new?" Hawke asks.

"No, nothing that Stefina didn't already tell us."

"Serah Gilea said that there is a place called Moon Gardens, where young people meet romantically. Do you know where that is?"

Lillbell turns red. "The housemother knows about the Moon Gardens?"

"I'm sure she knows many things."

Lillbell nods, glancing wearily towards the kitchen door. "I know where the Moon Garden is, why do you want to go there?"

Hawke pulls out the piece of folded paper from her bag. "See this? M... Gardens. I bet this was a note for a date in the Moon Gardens." She puts the note back and takes out the key to show it to Lillbell. "We should also go those sheds at the docks because the housemother gave me this key here and I have a suspicion that it might if in the lock for one of those sheds."

"I suggest we go to the docks first, it's safer while lots of people work there," Lillbell says.

"Good, let's hurry, I'm supposed to be back for lunch with the Prince."

Lillbell has the good sense to ask the guard for a carriage and they get to the harbour in a short time. Hawke is grateful that she can rest her leg during the drive. When they get out of the carriage near a row of storage sheds, she takes a deep breath and smiles. The air smells of water, some of it rotten, yes, but for the most part it smells of work, honest work. No poncy dresses, no tiny spoons here, just people doing their work. Hawke sighs as tension drops from her shoulders.

Lillbell and her walk over to the row of sheds and try the key on the padlocks. On the fifth shed, a tiny thing with fresh, white paint, the padlock springs open when Hawke turns the key.

"There we go," Hawke says and opens the door. The shed has no window but the sunlight coming through the open door is enough to see a small bed, a rickety chair with a colorful pillow and a small table with a lantern on it.

Hawke steps inside and looks around. The room is clean, except for some dirt and leaves on the ground. Hawke leans on her walking stick to bend down and picks the leaves up. As she stretches back up, she notices a hook next to the door. A knitted scarf with green and white stripes hangs on it. Hawke takes it off and shows it to Lillbell, who squeezes into the tiny room next to her.

"That's the colors of the Racing Griffons," Lillbell says

"And what do they race?"

"The river of course, tomorrow. The Racing Griffons won last year and are expected to win again this year."

Hawke steps outside into the sun and looks at the scarf more closely. She finds a few hairs on it, long dark ones and shorter, almost white hairs. She turns to Lillbell. "Tell me, is the son of Messere Kalden a member of the Racing Griffons?"

"Yes, he is, why?"

"Cause this looks just like the hair on that shy man in the Kalden household, who stared at us like we were spirits from the void."

Lillbell opens and closes her mouth a few times before she can speak. "His name is Tomlyn. Do you think Mahanel met with him here?"

"The scarf only proves that he was here, not her— "

"I found this hairband on the table, under the lantern." Lillbell opens her hand, revealing a small yellow band with red dots. "Mahanel always wore this. She loved yellow."

Hawke takes the hairband and puts it into her bag with the leaves she picked up from the floor. "I think we can assume that Tomlyn and Mahanel met here, to spend time with each other. She had a key to this shed. But I don't think she was killed here, there is no sign of struggle. In such a tiny room, something would be broken if she was strangled and fought against it."

"Poor Mahanel," Lillbell says and shakes her head.

Hawke locks the shed again and they return to the carriage. The bell rings through the city walls, announcing midday. "Back to the palace please," Hawke says to the driver. "I have to be back for lunch."

She is lost in thought, holding on to the handle as the carriage shakes and clatters over the cobblestones up to the palace. It's so loud that she doesn't notice the bump on the roof at first. But then a second noise and a scream rip her out of her thoughts and when she looks out of the window, the driver tumbles from his seat, pounding his fists against a figure in a black mask.

The horses panic and Hawke is thrown back into her seat as the carriage picks up speed again, the horses desperate to get back into their stables.

"My Lady!" Lillbell calls out as she desperately holds on to handle on her side. "There's still someone on the roof!"

Hawke takes the dagger out of her bag and grabs her enchanted 'walking stick' in the middle. The carriage turns around a corner, much too fast, almost tipping over, when with a crash, a black clad figure jumps through the door feet first, a knife glinting in his hand. He looks at Hawke but turns to Lillbell, jumping forward with his knife aimed at her throat.

Hawke doesn't hesitate. Calling up her magic, she freezes the attacker in midair with a flash of ice and then plunges her dagger into his neck. Lillbell screams when he falls down at her feet, his knife missing her by a hair's breadth.

The carriage still rushes much too fast over the road. Hawke tears her long skirt and kicks the broken door out of the way. She climbs out, hanging onto the railings on top of the carriage and shimmies up to the driver seat. With all the strength she can call forth and a little help from a magical barrier, she pulls herself up onto the seat, wincing at the pain shooting into her hip. She picks up the reins and slows the horses down.

"Calm down," she calls out to the horses with her voice as deep as she can. "Calm down." Finally the horses stop and she can turn the carriage around. Driving back, she is relieved to see the driver coming their way, limping, but apparently in good health.

Hawke carefully climbs down from the seat, the pain from her hip now more pronounced. The driver leans into the carriage and pulls out the dead attacker and rips the mask off the assassin's face.

"Do you know who that is?" Hawke asks him, leaning her weight on the carriage.

He shakes his head. "Naw, M'Lady, could be just anybody. With those hands," he picks up the dead man's hand and shows her the callouses on the inside, "maybe a sailor or a dock worker."

"Is the other one dead too?"

"Yes, M'Lady, 'm very sorry I couldn't protect you." The man looks at his hands in shame.

"Nobody was expecting assassins," Hawke says. "You did nothing wrong. Are you hurt?"

"Had worse at the bar last night, M'Lady."

"Alright. Tie the corpses on the back of the carriage, and take them to the guard once you dropped us off at the palace. And then report back to me."

"Yes, M'Lady."

Hawke climbs back into the carriage to a pale Lillbell staring at her with wide eyes and only now realizes that not everyone is quite so used to attacks and assassins as her. "Lill, are you alright?"

"He... he didn't hurt me but..."

"But?"

"You're a mage!"

Right, she forgot about that.

"Well, yes, it seems like it, doesn't it?"

"But... but... have you always been a mage?"

"Afraid so."

"Oh." Lillbell sits back and stares out of the window.

The carriage begins to move again and Hawke sits back down next to her, stretching her legs out with a sigh. "I would appreciate it if you didn't spread this fact around. Mages aren't exactly welcome in Starkhaven."

Lillbell nods as if in a daze. "I wouldn't have thought that the Prince is this tolerant. Or..." She turns to Hawke. "Does the Prince know?"

"Yes, he does." Hawke swallows down the sad sigh that wants to escape. That knowledge has not helped in closing the gap between them. "I understand if you don't want to be my assistant anymore..."

"Am I really your assistant?" Lillbell looks at her with a frown.

"Yes, of course you are."

"Then I would like to keep this position. And your secret is safe with me."

"Thank you," Hawke says quietly, relief washing over her.

That relief holds up until she steps into the small dining room, heavily leaning on her walking stick, to take lunch with her soon to be husband.

"Hawke!" Sebastian calls out and hurries over to her. "I heard of the attack, are you well?"

"Yes, I'm unhurt."

Sebastian puts his hands on her shoulders and for a moment it looks like he wants to pull her into a hug but he stops himself. "Let me see," he turns her to the sides and looks her up and down. "Your dress is torn."

Hawke looks down to her side. She has forgotten about the rip in her skirt all the way up to her hips. No wonder the guards and servants had been staring at her, she had been flashing her smalls at them on her way through the palace. Her neck turns hot. "Oh yes, I did that myself, I needed some freedom to move."

Sebastian turns to a servant at the door. "Have her dress maid bring a new skirt for her ladyship."

Hawke burst out laughing. "I don't have a dress maid. And poor Lillbell needs a break as much as me." She turns to the servant. "Just have one of the girls pick a skirt from my closet and bring it here, please."

Sebastian shakes his head with an amused smile. "Will you ever be a princess?"

Hawke grins at him. "Probably not. Can we please eat our lunch? I'm starving."

Sebastian offers her the seat next to him, instead of one at the other end of the table and for once she feels at home with him. For once it feels like she has lunch with a friend.

"Is your hip giving you trouble?" he asks warmly.

"A little but it'll be fine once I rested a bit."

"I'll have Alfin bring you an ointment tonight."

"You don't need to worry."

"You're Hawke, I always worry," he states matter of factly. "Now tell me about your investigation."

Hawke lays out what she knows about the case and Sebastian goes very quiet.

"Murder," he growls. "Murder is unforgivable."

"I'm sure I'll find out who did it but it will probably involve someone who's had dinner here in the palace. I think the attack today is proof that I'm making the culprit nervous." Hawke watches his face for a reaction.

Sebastian slams his fist on the table, making the silverware rattle. "A murderer will not be protected by their position in Starkhaven's society."

Hawke smiles at him. "Then I better hurry. Hopefully by tomorrow I can prove who did it."

She walks out, grabbing the new skirt on the way and quickly changes into it in a washroom. She asks a server to send Lillbell out to the carriages and waits for her assistant there.

"Where to now, my Lady?" Lillbell asks as she comes up to Hawke.

"The Moon Gardens," Hawke says.

They climb into a new carriage. The driver looks at them nervously, he probably heard what kind of trouble their other driver had but he dutifully nods and turns the carriage towards the gate.

The Moon Gardens are behind the inner city wall, a public park near Starkhaven's waterworks. Hawke and Lillbell stroll along the beautiful manicured bushes and flowers, following an artificially winding path. Hawke's hip begins to feel better, the pain retreating to a dull throb.

"The Lovers Place is over there," Lillbell says and points to a tree with long, low hanging branches that form a natural roof over a few benches.

Hawke doesn't look at the benches though. She looks over to a group of tall bushes, planted in a circle. Rummaging through her bag, she finds the leaves from the shed's floor and holds one up.

"Doesn't this look like a leaf from those bushes?"

Lillbell squints at the leaf and walks over to the bushes. Ripping a leaf off, she compares it to the one between Hawke's fingertips.

"Yes, this is the same kind."

Hawke pushes twigs aside and steps into the circle of bushes. "I found this leaf on the floor in the shed and I wonder..." she leans down over her stick, ignoring the pain in her hip. The ground here is rough, no grass grows in the shade of the bushes. Turning her head slowly, something catches her eye. "There," she points at a scrap of yellow fabric, stuck to a branch. Lillbell frees the piece from the thorny branch, not without a few scrapes on her hand, and gives it to Hawke.

Hawke pushes herself up and holds the fabric into the light. "That looks like it's from Mahanel's dress. Back at the palace we can compare it to the rip in the fabric but I'm sure it's from the dress."

"She was here."

Hawke nods. "And I think this is where she was killed." She notices something glinting in the dirt and bends down to pick it up. She straightens again with a sigh as her back gives a crack and looks at the thing. It's a button with some symbols etched into it. "Someone sent her a note to come here at night, strangled her and then brought her into the shed at the docks."

"But why?"

"Maybe it was a bad time to throw the body into the river? Maybe he wanted to wait for the tide to come in?"

Lillbell stares at the piece of fabric. "Do you think Tomlyn killed her?"

"Why would Tomlyn ask her to come down here, when they usually met at the shed? And would he leave his scarf there, when everything is so clean and orderly, making him the prime suspect?" She shakes her head and holds the golden button between her fingertips into the light. "Someone lured her here and when he killed her, he lost this button."

"What do we do now?"

Hawke turns and they slowly walk back to the carriage. "Now we'll tell the Guard-Captain what we found out and then talk to the Prince and then..." Hawke can't help but grin with glee. "And then we'll make that race tomorrow a very interesting event."

*~~~(())~~~*

The weather in Starkhaven has turned grey and windy but that doesn't stop the oarsmen to prepare for their race. The riverbank is filled with the common people while the nobility sit on raised stands, overlooking the river from further back.

Hawke has her arm interlinked with Sebastian's as he inspects the teams and boats. Each boat has six oarsmen and the teams wear shirts and scarfs in their team colors. Hawke keeps looking for the green and white stripes of the Racing Griffons.

"There." Sebastian points to a group of people gathered around a green and white boat. The Lady and Lord Kalden stand next to six slim young men, all except one wearing a scarf with green and white stripes. Tomlyn Kalden, easily recognisable by his blond hair, wears a grey scarf. Hawke nods to Lillbell and the girl disappears into the crowd.

"Lady Kalden," Hawke says and enjoys the short short loss of control she can see in Lady Kaldens' face as she recognizes the Prince.

"Your Highness, your Ladyship, it's an honour to meet you," Lady Kalden says with a tiny curtsey.

"May we speak with you and Tomlyn for a moment?" Hawke says, presenting her sweetest smile.

Lord Kalden furrows his brows. "We do not want to impose on the Prince's time— "

Sebastian clears his throat most politely. "I can assure you that I'm quite the master of my own time. Do indulge me and my betrothed for a moment."

Hawke points at the scarf around Tomlyn's neck. "Why do you not wear your team colors?"

Tomlyn turns red but before he can speak, one of his teammates speaks up. "His scarf was stolen from his locker, five nights ago. Nothing was broken, just the scarf was gone."

"How strange," Hawke says. She pulls the scarf from her bag. "Is this yours?" she asks Tomlyn.

His face lights up. "Yes. Where did you find it?"

"At a scene of a crime," Hawke says sharply, watching Tomlyn for his reaction. "In the shed where you and Mahanel loved to meet."

"What are you saying?" Lady Kalden says, her voice much higher pitched than usually. Lord Kalden's mouth draws into a thin line.

Hawke fixes Lady Kalden with her gaze. "I'm saying that your son had an elven lover that he secretly met in a shed at the docks, presumably to keep the relationship a secret. Judging by the color of your husband's face, he wouldn't be in favor of such a dalliance."

"This is outrageous!" Lord Kalden finally bellows, face red and blotchy.

"Quiet!" Sebastian calls out, instantly quieting the whole area. A sizeable audience has gathered around the Racing Griffons and Hawke notices Lillbell with the Guard-Captain and three of her guards moving towards them.

Hawke turns to Tomlyn, who is white like a sheet. "You left your scarf in the shed and that makes you the prime suspect of the murder of Mahanel."

No!" Tomlyn calls out, tears in his eyes. "No, I could never... I loved her. I wanted... I would never..." he says, his slim frame shaking in sobs. "And the scarf.. I never took the scarf there, it's always in the locker. I didn't kill her, I swear!"

Hawke nods. "Yes, that's what I thought." She turns back to Lady Kalden. "Leaving the scarf there in the shed, to me it looked like someone tried to frame Tomlyn for the murder."

She makes a pause, watching how Lady Kalden thinks through this information. "Because Mahanel wasn't killed in that shed, she was killed in the Moon Gardens." She takes the golden button from her bag and holds it up for Lady Kalden to see. "The killer lost this button when he strangled the poor girl. And I wondered, Lady Kalden, if you happen to know where this button could be from."

Lady Kalden's face is ashen and she stares at the button as if she expects it to come to life.

"Pah," Lord Kalden barks out. "Why would my wife know any old button?"

Lady Kalden slowly turns and looks at him, her eyes cold and deadly. Whatever Lord Kalden wanted to say, it dies in his throat. "The button belongs to my husband's coat," she says. "Five nights ago, he went out at night and when he came back, his knees were dirty and that button was missing from his coat."

"What are you saying, woman?" Lord Kalden cries out.

"You wanted to frame your own son, my son for the murder of that girl?" Her voice cuts through the silence like a knife. "You have a key to the boat house, only you could have taken the scarf from the locker and place it in that shed."

"She was just an elf," Lord Kalden yells. "He could have any girl and he fucks around with a dirty knife-ear?"

"I loved her! She was wonderful," Tomlyn cries out and breaks down in tears.

Lady Kalden goes to her son and and puts her arm around his shoulders. "To protect yourself, you wanted to sacrifice my boy?"

Sebastian draws himself up to his full height and steps up to Lord Kalden. "And then you ordered an attack on my betrothed?" he snarls at him. His voice is low, dripping with barely controlled anger. "You endangered her life, the life of my soon to be wife!"

"They were just meant to scare her, to hurt her elf," Lord Kalden bellows. "If she'd only kept her nose out things, nothing would have happened."

Hawke steps up to them. "It you think hurting my assistant would have stopped me, you got a very wrong impression of me." She looks over to Lillbell with a reassuring smile. Lillbell has turned deep red, a little smile playing on her lips.

Sebastian steps even closer to the man, speaking so low that only the three of them can hear it. "If anything had happened to the woman I intend to marry and spend my life with, I'd kill ye right here on the spot." He glares at the man until Lord Kalden visibly shrinks away from Sebastian's murderous expression.

Sebastian steps back again, looking at Hawke. His expression softens and Hawke's heart jumps in her chest at the way he looks at her with such tenderness. He pulls her hand up to his lips and kisses her knuckles, for a moment resting his lips on her skin.

Then he straightens and turns to the crowd. "Murder," he says loudly and the crowd falls silent. "Murder is unforgivable. Starkhaven doesn't treat the murder of an elf any different than the murder of a human. Guard-Captain Donaren, arrest this man and take him away."

Hawke watches as the guard leads Lord Kalden to a carriage with bars over the doors and windows. Lady Kalden waits until the carriage has pulled away before she strides through the crowd with her son at her side.

"Lady Kalden," Hawke calls after her.

Lady Kalden turns slowly, her face an unmoving mask. "Yes, Lady Amell?"

"May I call on you tomorrow evening if it's not too much trouble?"

There is a tiny bit of movement in that iron mask of control, something that almost looks like gratefulness. "Thank you, Lady A... — Lady Vael, I would be honored."

Sebastian places his hand on Hawke's lower back as he comes up to her. "You're preserving her reputation."

"I'm trying to. It's not her fault that her husband is a murderer." She tries to ignore the heat of his hand at her back but fails.

He leans over to her and murmurs into her ear, "I'm proud of you and I'm grateful that you're here with me. Will you join me in my study tonight, just to talk?"

She turns to him, and he's so close that she can count the different shades of blue in his eyes. "I'd love to."

She know she's blushing and she's done hiding it. Her lips brush against his, and she almost pulls away but then he leans towards her and catches her lips with his own. He kisses her like he prays, with full devotion, worshipping her as he pulls her close.

When he finally pulls away, his eyes piercing her very soul, he whispers, "I've waited so long for this."

Her heart jumps into her throat. "I didn't know you felt the same way."

"Oh Hawke," he drawls, smiling at her.

She is dimly aware that the crowd is cheering them on but she doesn't care. She needs to kiss him again.

*~~~(())~~~*