"Some may call it a curse
A life like mine
But others, a blessing
It's certainly a lonely life
But a fulfilling one and the best
It's my cross to bear
And I'll bear it gladly
Someone has to take a stand against evil
Why should it not be me?"
I'm going to die; I know it, the many pairs of ice-cold eyes looking back at me through the slits within their helmets know it, too. Strange, how it has come to this, how after all my mother and father did to make sure neither my sister or I ended up in the hands the Chantry, this is where my life will end, at the tip of a Templar's sword, slain under the Right of Annulment during the cleansing of a Circle the both had fought so hard to escape. An apostate's blood runs just as red, so that will make no difference, my magic is just as much an accident of birth, a curse of the Maker the same as any other poor soul locked in the dismal prison knows as the Gallows. Really, it wouldn't be so bad to die, to finally escape from the prison that has been my life, to get a chance to finally be myself in the hereafter, not just whatever title has been thrown on me for the moment. Daughter, sister, niece, Red Iron, apostate bitch, my lady, Serah, my friend, lethallan, beloved, kadan, Champion… I have been all of these; "proud scion of the House of Amell", "Lady Hawke", "she who should be viscount", a million other titles have been tossed my way these last few years. Here, in the moment of death, I can finally be myself, finally admit to all of Thedas who and what I am. No more running, no more hiding, no more masks. Only one person ever knew all of me, and now… oh, Anders, what have you done? Oh, my love, how much easier it would have been for you to drive a knife straight into my heart; it couldn't have hurt any more than this.
Screams, explosions, and the ringing of steel against stone echo in the distance as I straighten proudly to look at my executioners. Who knows what they see: a young woman, throwing her future away in a last stand to protect those who deserve no protection; an evil temptress, taunting them into some wild charge; the great Champion of Kirkwall, brainwashed by her own people, poisoned with blood magic by her own lover to do his bidding, the only solution a death of mercy? Can they even understand the truth, that only now I understand who I am completely, that for all the times in my life that I wished I wasn't a mage, if only to protect my family or to be good enough for someone else, this is the first time that I completely accept it? Even in a way this is not unexpected; my entire life was spent living for others, should it be so surprising I would die in another's place as well? If only you weren't coming with me into the Void…
"Champion," one of the Templars begins.
"No," I reply, raising my staff and gathering the magic inside me to form lightening along its length. "The Champion is gone. I am only an apostate named Ebony Hawke, and I do believe you wish to kill me…"
"Remember who you are
What you stand for
And there will always be a way."
A/N: Lyrics at top of page from "Why Not Me?" and bottom of page from "Deceiver of Fools", both by Within Temptation. I do not own the lyrics or any of the characters from Dragon Age 2 that were created by BioWare. Wish I did though, being sick and being broke at the same time is not fun.