Hey guys, I enjoyed writing this fic.
Started planning this out the moment after playing through adamant.
so SPOILERS obviously.
Note: This fic is not connected to my other stories about the Hawke siblings.
Mostly, it stands on it's own.
This is the story of Bethany, the last Hawke.
Bethany Hawke comes to Skyhold alone, Varric's letter clenched tightly in her hand.
Sunshine, there's something you need to know. I'm so sorry. It's about your brother Garrett... the dwarf's letter began.
Aveline had wanted to come with her, but Bethany knew that after everything that had happened in Kirkwall, the city needed its guard captain.
In another day and age, Bethany would have found it hard to believe that her old friend and crush, the Prince of Starkhaven himself, had tried(and failed) to annex the city in chains.
But no, Bethany was older now. After everything that had happened to her, after everything she'd seen, there was little that surprised her anymore.
The fortress that stood as the Inquisition's headquarters was easy enough to find, with all the traffic coming and going, ranging from merchants, to soldiers, to mages.
The guards posted at the gates had gaped at her once she'd told them her name.
"Bethany Hawke" she'd said, and they'd stared at her seeing the resemblance.
They'd let her in soon after, officially she was here as another former Circle mage, but she'd truly come to speak with a old friend.
Once inside Bethany saw the tavern and headed inside guessing he'd be there.
The Skyhold tavern was as any other, filled with people milling about and bards working their craft.
A nice woman asked Bethany if she wanted her to take her traveling cloak, saying that "it's plenty warm in here miss."
But Bethany politely shook her head moving on.
...
She found Varric playing a game of cards with a Qunari of all people.
As she approached, the horned Qunari looked up from his cards and gave her a curious look.
Varric turned just as she reached them.
Bethany lowered the hood of her traveling cloak and Varric gaped at her.
"Sunshine!" the dwarf said.
"You two know each other? Varric my man, I thought you weren't into humans" the Qunari said smirking.
"It's not like that" Bethany said.
Varric turned to his companion saying "Bull, give us a minute will you."
Iron Bull looked between the two of them and after getting a better look at Bethany, he too saw the resemblance.
The same midnight-black hair and sky blue eyes.
"Alright, we'll finish this later. Might as well, was about to rob you blind" Iron Bull japed, his massive form revealed as he stood and left.
Bethany slid into the seat across from Varric, the seat which had formly belonged to the Iron Bull.
"Who names a Qunari, 'Iron Bull'?" Bethany asked.
Varric laughed saying "it's a long story." The dwarf seemed uneasy, he avoided her eyes and spoke up asking "you want a drink, it's on me."
"No, I'm fine. Varric I got your letter" Bethany said.
Varric sighed, he couldn't say he was surprised, he had actually been expecting something like this for awhile now.
"Your letter said you were there when it happened... when Garrett was left behind" Bethany said slowly.
Varric stared into his mug of ale.
"Sunshin- Bethany do you really want to hear all this?" Varric asked uneasily.
"Please Varric, I want to know the whole story" Bethany pleadly.
Varric took a long drink of his ale before slamming his mug down on the table.
"It started with the business with the Wardens. I... I asked Hawke to help because he had friends in the Wardens and because he'd defeated Corypheus once before. When the Inquisition launched it's assault on Adamant, Hawke decided to help" Varric said, beginning his tale.
Bethany listened in silence as Varric told her about the seige, of the corrupted Wardens and their plight, of their manipulation, of the Inquisitor and her squad along with Hawke and Stroud being pulled into the Fade, of the Divine or what appeared to be her and the aid she gave them, and then of their battle with the Nightmare... and Hawke staying behind so the Inqusitior and the others could escape.
Varric told no exaggerations, no sly comments, only the truth as he had known it.
It was something that no man or woman of any species could claim to have heard from him before.
"And so we landed smack into adamant again and saved the remaining Wardens. I... I wanted to go back for him, I would have, you know that right?" Varric said looking at her somberly.
"I know" Bethany said closing her eyes sadly.
"But it was too late, not even the Inquisitor could go back into there" Varric said.
"Is there a chance... he could find another way out?" Bethany said
"Ancestors I hope so" Varric said, he was no mage, he knew little of the Fade.
No one has entered the Fade physically and returned since the First Blight... Bethany thought.
She knew she was being stupid, the rational part of her knew there was no hope for a non-mage to find a way back, but still a part of her wanted to believe.
"I suppose this means the Tale of the Champion is an unfinished series" Bethany said trying to make light, it wasn't funny and she felt empty inside.
"Yeah, I supposed it is" Varric said trying to keep the mood light, but failing just as Bethany had.
Bethany folded her hands together and stared at nothing in particular.
"Listen, if you need anything I'm here for you" Varric said, breaking the silence.
"Thanks Varric, I think I just need to be alone right now" Bethany said.
"I understand, I'll be around if you need anything" Varric said getting up and leaving her be respectfully.
Upstairs, a spirit who had taken the form of a man stirred.
"So alone, the world is empty now. Broken promises, he lied but he never meant too. Father, mother, uncle, and now both brothers, when will it end? I am the last of my family... I'm alone now" Cole said.
Cole was half way down the stairs when he saw Varric waiting for him.
"She needs to be alone now, kid" Varric said.
"But-"
"Trust me" Varric said, and Cole did.
Bethany ended up ordering a drink after all.
She took a long drink and sighed.
How did it come to this? Why did he have to be the hero? Bethany thought, pondering over her life and thinking that fairness didn't seem to have a role in this world of theirs.
When Bethany was a little girl, she used to think that her brothers didn't like her.
Garrett was always around, but he was older and he had friends of his own.
He never treated her badly, and he was always polite. But he never seemed to care for her. He rarely talked to her, and sometimes he would give her a strange look... almost sad.
Why was he sad? Bethany used to wonder.
What had she done?
Bethany had asked her father once, but Malcolm had avoided the question.
"Garrett's older, he doesn't want his kid sister following him around. Bethany no matter what, I promise you that your brothers love you. Both of them" was all her father had said.
That had made Bethany smile.
That night, Bethany had surprised Garrett as he was fixing the fence outside their home in Lothering.
"Garrett... do you love me?" Bethany had asked him.
Garrett had only frozen, the young man putting his tools down to turn to her.
"You're my sister, of course I love you" Garrett said ruffling her hair.
...
However, her twin brother was another story entirely.
Carver never wasted an attempt to make her life miserable, always trying to grab the food off her plate saying "boys need to eat more than girls, that's why we grow up stronger."
Or else teasing or arguing with her about anything and everything.
If Bethany was tired, Carver said she was lazy.
If Bethany was hungry, Carver said she was fat.
Then there was the time Carver nailed her hair to her bed when she was asleep, how he managed to do that without waking her would forever remain a mystery.
She'd yelled at him and Carver had only laughed.
That laugh died when suddenly Carver found himself being lifted off the floor and flung across the room by an unseen force.
Carver had cried from the pain and Garrett had burst into the twins' shared bedroom.
Garrett was different than Carver, older and more mature, he never teased and never got angry.
He didn't yell at Bethany when he'd seen what she'd done to Carver.
He didn't yell at Carver either, he only hauled Carver up by his sleeves saying "you'll be okay, there's not even a bruise. Let father take a look at it."
"He started it" Bethany had stammered even as Garrett had gently pushed Carver out the door to see their father.
"I know" was all Garrett had said.
Moments later, Bethany heard their father arguing with Carver outside, as Garrett sat beside her trying to free her hair from the nails embedded into her bed.
Garrett never spoke a word as he tried to free her, but they could hear Carver shouting outside.
"It's her fault. She's the freak who can't control her magic! I was just having some fun and.. and she's not like you dad! She's not-"
"He hates me" Bethany had pouted.
"He doesn't hate you" Garrett had said.
"He does!" Bethany had snapped at him.
Garrett had raised an eyebrow at that.
"Carver's always picking on me. He never stops, always trying to make my life miserable. He knows I have trouble with my magic but he-" Bethany had began tears welling up in her eyes.
Suddenly, Bethany felt her older brother's hand on her shoulder.
"Beth... Carver is jealous of you" Garrett said looking at her in that sad way of his.
Why is he sad?
"Je... jealous?" Bethany stammered confused.
Garrett sighed.
"It's because of your magic. You spend so much time with father... he's jealous because father doesn't spend time with him anymore. Carver will never admit it, but he misses our parents' attention. That's why he acts the way he does, he only wants attention" he said.
Bethany made to sit up but only hurt herself as the nails held her hair back.
"I... I never knew" was all Bethany said.
Garrett only smiled saying "it's okay Beth."
He smirked adding "besides... Carver's an ass."
Bethany laughed.
In the end, Garrett had grabbed their father's carving knife saying he had to cut around the nails.
To make up for it, Garrett had cut the other side of Bethany's hair too. "It'll be even that way" he'd said as she pouted.
"There, now you're the prettiest girl in Lothering" Garrett had said when he was done.
Garrett, Bethany decided, was the best big brother a girl could ask for.
As they got older, the Hawke siblings changed and as they did, so to did their relationships.
The day their father passed away, it was like all three of them aged five years.
It took Leandra months to even leave the house, with Garrett now the man of the family and working whatever jobs he could to support them. Carver started hunting, and Bethany took up sowing, all of them doing their part.
Carver stopped teasing her after their father died, at times he still liked to pock fun at her but he was never cruel the way he used to be.
The Hawke twins came to an understanding to be polite with each other, but that wasn't enough for Garrett whom often intervened on both their behalves.
One time, he even grabbed the both them and knocked their head together.
"You're siblings, stop fighting all the time" Garrett had said laughing, always the mediator.
...
As they got older, Garrett started asking her if she wanted to tag along whenever he went out.
Bethany had never been good at making friends, her abilities as a mage and her family's fear of the templars kept her isolated, and so when Garrett invited her to come with him she never once refused.
They grew closer, and soon it became known to the villagers of Lothering that if one saw the handsome Garrett Hawke that his shy little sister would be at his side.
One day, Carver got into a fight with three neighborhood kids around his age.
When Garrett had stepped in, he literally had to drag Carver away after first dealing with the three boys himself.
All in all, Garrett only bruised his knuckles but Carver ended up with a busted lip, a black eye, and a nearly broken nose.
That night, when Leandra and Bethany were helping bandage Carver as Garrett stood watch, she asked him why he'd gotten into a fight.
"Because of you! What do you think you're doing walking around where all the boys can see you" Carver said sounding angry.
That left all of them stunned.
"What happened?" Garrett asked.
"Those boys... they asked if Bethany would do things with them. They said she was pretty and-" Carver began.
"They beat you up" Garrett cut in.
"I beat them up!" Carver corrected.
So he does care... Bethany thought wide eyed.
Carver gulped in surprise as he found his twin sister's arms flung around him in an embrace.
Leandra and Garrett had smiled at that.
"Thank you" she said.
"Alright, I need to have words with those boys' parents. Seems they never taught their kids how to treat women" Garrett said heading for the door.
"I'm coming too" Carver said making to get up, but Leandra and Bethany stopped him.
"Dear, you're hurt and I don't want you getting into anymore fights" their mother had said pulling Carver down by the ear.
Years later, her brothers joined the Ferelden army.
Leandra wasn't happy, but she knew she couldn't stop them.
The night they left, Bethany almost cried.
"Take care little sister" Garrett had said ruffling her hair as he and Carver headed out.
Months passed, and her brothers returned having survived the massacre at Ostagar, and they were no longer the young men she used to know.
Both of them had been aged before their time... they'd witnessed so much death in a single day. Both wore the armor of Ferelden soldiers, and both had turned deserter to save their family.
They had had to flee Lothering with the Darkspawn chasing after them every step of the way, the Blight had begun.
While on the run, they bumped into some more survivors from Lothering.
A templar, Sir Wesley and his wife Aveline.
The mutual threat of the Darkspawn brought an uneasy truce among their groups, but still Wesley was wary of Bethany and in turn she was wary of him.
Their mother had decided that they should take ship and head to Kirkwall, her ancestral home where she said they would be nobility...
only disaster struck along the way.
Carver was killed.
The Darkspawn had ambushed them again, and brave Carver had taken on an Ogre all by himself trying to protect their mother.
Leandra had sobbed and wailed.
Garrett only knelt beside his fallen brother, head held low.
"I'm sorry... I failed you little brother. I couldn't save you" was all he said as Sir Wesley gave Carver his last rights.
Bethany had wept in silence as they'd been forced to leave Carver's body behind.
A year later, Bethany found herself in the Lowtown district of Kirkwall, living in a small and cramped house with her uncle, her mother, and her brother.
Their uncle Gamlen had lost the family fortune it seemed.
And to pay for their way into the city, Garrett and Bethany had been sold into servitude for a year.
It was difficult making a living, their first year in Kirkwall.
Garrett took other odd jobs around Lowtown to make ends meet, coming home with cuts and bruises on his hands, the signs of a working man.
"At least we have each other. I wouldn't trade that for the biggest estate in Hightown" Garrett had told her when she'd asked how he never let the poverty get to him.
"Me either" Bethany had admitted smiling.
Garrett always seemed to have time for her, no matter how tired he was, he was always there for her.
After everything that had happened to them, they had grown very close. Losing Carver had been hard on both of them, and it caused Garrett to become much more protective of his sister.
Bethany found it annoying at times, yet also sweet.
...
Later the two of them got involved in a Dwarven expedition, they had needed coin to return their family's former status of nobility to them. Bethany and her brother felt that it was what their mother deserved, but more than that they need better protection against the templars.
And so Varric Tethras came into their lives, offering to get them into his and his brother's expedition if they could gather the coin needed to fund it.
Bethany had breathed a sigh of relief once Garrett had shaken the drawf's hand saying "deal."
It took quite some time, but the Hawke siblings gathered the coin needed to fund Varric and his brother's expedition.
They hadn't done it alone, they'd gathered friends and allies along the way and Bethany was happy.
For once, she had friends as well as family.
She had purpose alongside her brother and although it hadn't been easy, the two of them had begun to build another life for themselves in Kirkwall.
In time, just as in Lothering, the people of Kirkwall learned that if the ruggedly handsome Garrett Hawke was around, then his sister was usually at his side.
...
The night before the expedition was the first time in years when their family argued.
Their mother didn't want Bethany to go.
"I have to go! I worked with Garrett everyday! Mother, I can take care of myself now." Bethany had pleaded with their mother.
Garrett leaned against the wall of Gamlen's hut uneasily.
He watched her arguing with their mother but said nothing. Gamlen was out drinking, he wouldn't have known what to say either.
"I can't have both of you going down there. It's too dangerous" Leandra said.
Bethany turned to her brother saying "Garrett tell her I can take care of myself. You've seen me fight, I've saved your life more than once."
"And I you" Garrett had answered back, not meeting her eyes.
It was true, they'd saved each other lives countless times. In the wilds of Ferelden, and during their adventures in Kirkwall, they'd have been dead without each other.
Garrett sighed saying "Bethany's a grown woman and she can take care of herself."
Bethany smiled, she knew he'd always back her up.
But then Leandra had burst into tears.
Garrett's face fell and Bethany stared at their mother open mouthed.
The Hawke siblings watched as Leandra weep, holding her face in her hands.
"I can't lose you... any of you" Leandra said even as she wept.
Garrett was at her side in an instant.
"It's alright mom" he said cradling her gently.
Bethany felt ashamed at how long it took her to join Garrett in comforting their mother.
...
"You're not going to let me go... are you?" Bethany asked after mother had gone to bed.
Garrett had been about to go to bed himself when she'd asked.
He'd frozen, a hand on the doorknob to his room.
"No" he said not meeting her eyes.
"Why!" Bethany said, biting her lip to avoid shouting.
"For mother." Garrett answered turning to face her.
That killed any response Bethany had had.
"She can't bare to lose any more than she has" Garrett continued.
"I can take care of myself-" Bethany began only for Garrett to grab her by the shoulders.
"I know you can Bethany. But mother is right, if something happens down there... then both of us shouldn't go. It's dangerous" he said meeting her blue eyes with his.
Bethany bit her lip, she knew he was doing this for mother, she knew that mother had lost so much, but still, she hated it.
"Besides, why are you complaining? You get to stay in this wonderful city, while I have go into the Deep Roads elbow deep in Darkspawn" Garrett said trying to lighten the mood.
Bethany didn't respond, only lowering her head.
"... I could protect you" Bethany said.
Garrett laughed saying "that's my line."
Bethany laughed and Garrett let go of her shoulders.
"You're always doing that you know. Trying to protect me, I'm stronger than you think" Bethany said finally.
"I know" Garrett said softly.
"But?" Bethany said knowingly.
Garrett smirked.
"That's what big brothers are for." he answered.
Bethany rolled her eyes.
"Beth, when this expedition is over everything will be better. You'll see, we'll reclaim mother's family legacy and become Nobles. We'll be safe from the templars, and we can finally leave all this poverty behind us" Garrett said.
It was nice dream Bethany thought.
"You promise?" Bethany said.
"I promise" Garrett said and she hugged him.
"Be safe out there" she said.
Life, it seemed, was cruel.
Garrett couldn't keep his promise.
Too bad... it had been such a nice dream Bethany thought as the templars put her in chains.
Leandra was sobbing and Gamlen only stood back with her with his head low.
"YOU'RE NOT TAKING HER!" Garrett shouted.
Four templars stood before Bethany's brother, yet he didn't back down in the slightest.
He'd only just returned from the expedition, stumbling home only to find the templars taking his sister away from them.
It was the nightmare they'd been fearing ever since Bethany was five years old.
"Don't do anything you'll regret Mr. Hawke. Your sister's cooperation with us is the only reason the rest of your family isn't being charged with anything" Sir Cullen said, his arms crossed.
Bethany watched somberly as Garrett sized up the four templars and they sized him up.
"Bethany is coming with us" Sir Cullen said sternly.
Bethany turned and saw Garrett, her Garrett, always the calm one, always mature, never one to yell, always the diplomat, losing his cool.
She could see that her brother was furious, in her entire life she'd never seen him so worked up.
"Over my dead body" Garrett said coldly.
Garrett reached for his longsword and the templars reached for theirs.
"Stop!" Bethany cut in.
Garrett had already pulled half of his longsword from its sheath, when Bethany had ran between him and the templars, her hand on his wrist.
"Beth..." Garrett said in a low voice, he was looking at her hand on his wrist, the hand that kept him from unsheathing his sword.
"Please don't drag yourself down with me" Bethany said on the verge of tears.
"No. I... I can't. I... I promised father I'd take care of you" Garrett said, stumbling over his words.
"And you did. But now those days are over" Bethany said putting on a fake smile.
"Oh Bethany! What will happen to you?!" Leandra said grabbing her daughter in a tight embrace.
"I'll be okay mother" Bethany said reassuringly.
Sir Cullen spoke up saying "we need to report in at the Gallows. I'm sorry, but we need to leave now."
Garrett glared at him.
Bethany turned to go with the templars but Garrett grabbed her, his hand in hers.
"I'm sorry. I should have been here. I should have protected you. I'll write whenever I can... you stay safe" Garrett said, his composure breaking.
"I will" Bethany said as the templars had to pull her away from her family.
Garrett held her hand as long as he could, but in the end, he was left behind as the templars moved on with Bethany in tow.
Years would pass before Bethany saw her brother again.
Her time in the Kirkwall Circle of Magi was not always pleasant.
Her Harrowing had been challenging, but she'd overcome her demon, and broken the record for fastest Harrowing in the Gallows.
Bethany's life in the Circle was different than she would have suspected.
Ever since she was a little girl, she'd had nightmares about being taken by the templars. The reality, whilst no walk in the park, was far less traumatic than she would have guessed.
Bethany moved through the ranks in the Circle fairly quickly, she'd always been gifted with her magic.
Even still, she missed the outside world at times.
Always locked in with the others mages left her homesick, it took months for her to shake it off, and it never truly went away.
She ended up taking a position as an assistant lecturer, helping the younger mages in the Circle and getting to know the more senior mages.
She received letters from time to time, and once or twice she was allowed to right back.
Bethany also heard stories of the great Garrett Hawke.
Garrett Hawke, the Ferelden Dog who'd risen to Nobility. Or at least that's what she'd hear people say about him.
Even a few templars had asked her about him.
"You there, mage. You... you're the sister of Garrett Hawke?" the templars would ask.
"Garrett is my brother" she would answer, cold but polite.
"I see. What's he like? The stories they tell of him are... hard to believe. That he slew a dragon, fought alongside King Cailan, that he was once a mercenary or a smuggler-" the templars would begin.
"You shouldn't believe everything you hear, templar" Bethany would cut in, turning to leave before they had a chance to ask anything further.
Funny thing is... most of those stories are true Bethany would think as she left the confused templars in her wake.
When Bethany heard about her mother's death, she wasn't able to teach for days. She'd read Garrett's letter with hollow dead eyes, and it just hadn't seen real.
Bethany inquired but no matter how much she or Garrett brought it up, she wasn't allowed to attend the funeral.
In time, Bethany was given permission to visit her mother's grave, more than a week after the funeral.
The templars had provided escort, and it had been Gamlen who'd met her that day.
Garrett had been called away on business by the Viscount himself, something to do with the Qunari.
It had been so long since she'd seen her family, that she hugged Gamlen.
They'd caught up as best they could but, the templars hadn't let her stay long.
"I'm sorry Garrett wasn't here to meet you. He wanted to be here, but the Viscount needed him. Hehe your brother's become an important man." Gamlen had explained.
An important man? A noble in Kirkwall, and something of a hero to the common folk? My brother has moved up in the world... good she'd thought.
...
Weeks after that, the day came when Bethany was asked to join a trio of Circle Mages that was to provide entertainment for a Noble's party.
She'd considered refusing, but in the end she couldn't pass up a chance to leave the Circle even if it was for but a night.
Funny how templars 'allowed' their Circle Mages to dress up and entertain the nobles, but Bethany found the fresh air a relief.
And so it was that Bethany found herself standing in the ball room of the Viscount's Keep, weaving small amounts of fire through the air as crowds of passing Kirkwall Nobility watched in awe before moving on.
It was during one of these 'performances' that Bethany saw him.
She almost hadn't recognized him at first, but she'd known him all her life. Standing amid the crowd of nobility milling about, he stood.
Garrett Hawke, dressed in fine silk robes fit for nobility, but still with his unruly midnight-black hair that he swept to the left, his bangs slanting across his forehead.
Her blue eyes met his, and he smiled. Her only surviving sibling, a reminder of her past, the good days and the bad.
When her crowd of onlookers had moved on, he made his way to her, ignoring some noblewoman who'd battered her eyelashes at him, and suddenly he was at her side.
"Hello Mr. Hawke. Or is it Sir now?" she told him coolly.
She wasn't sure what made her do it, why was she so cold to him? What was this wall she'd suddenly put up?
He frowned at her.
"Neither. I'll always be Garrett to you" he answered.
Bethany arched an eyebrow at him.
"Garrett... it's good to see you" she said.
He looked at her curiously.
"You're upset with me?" Garrett asked softly, he was never one to dance around the issue.
Bethany was taken aback. "I... no that's not-" she began.
"That's fine" he cut in.
"I couldn't keep my promise. I understand why you'd be bitter" Garrett said smiling in spite of everything.
He was happy to see her, no matter what.
"I... I was jealous" Bethany admitted avoiding his gaze.
Garrett said nothing.
"It was a nice dream. Becoming Nobility, restoring mother's legacy" Bethany said sadly.
I just didn't get to live it. But I shouldn't hold it against him, if I hadn't stopped him he'd have taken on the templars single highhandedly Bethany thought.
"It was never really my dream either, I only wanted to give mother the life she deserved. And to keep you safe. Seems I failed both times huh?" Garrett said somberly.
"No, don't say that" Bethany said suddenly.
"Beth-" he began.
"You did your best, who knows what would have happened down in the deep roads? From what I hear, you barely made it out alive yourself. We are where we are now, this is our life. We have to make the most of it" Bethany said.
Garrett laughed saying "my little sister's all grown up. When did you get so mature? That's supposed to be my job."
"Carver was the immature one, not me. That's what mother used to say" Bethany said chucking lightly.
"I seem to remember a certain little mage who flung him across the room once" Garrett teased.
Bethany gaped at him. "Well, he was being a... you know" she said.
"An ass" Garrett said smirking.
"An ass" she agreed laughing.
Bethany sighed softly.
"I miss them, both of them. I miss you too" Bethany said at last.
He put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah."
"I haven't seen you laugh like that in ages Hawke. It's good, seeing the two of you together like that again" a voice said making Bethany jump.
They turned seeing Aveline standing nearby in full plate armor.
"Guard Captain" Garrett said throwing his hand up in mock solute.
Aveline chuckled.
"You're Guard Captain now?" Bethany said in greeting, it'd been years since she'd seen her fellow Ferelden.
"She was promoted after everything that happened with Jeven" Garrett said.
"Congratulations" Bethany said just as Aveline embraced her.
"It's good to see you again Bethany" Aveline said.
"You too" Bethany said.
Aveline released Bethany saying "here I was trying to find your brother and thinking he was avoiding yet another dance with a noblewoman, but instead I find a reunion."
"Tis true, I was dodging the noblewomen" Garrett said smiling softly at his sister.
"Anyway, I didn't mean to intrude. I'll see you around if I can" Aveline said taking her leave of them.
Bethany watched her go.
"She looks good" Bethany said smiling at her old friend.
"Did she write to you?" Garrett asked suddenly.
Bethany shook her head.
"After mother died... you were the only one who sent letters. And then one day those stopped too" Bethany said with a hint of sadness.
It was true, as Garrett had moved up in the world, becoming an important man in Kirkwall, he'd gotten busier and he hadn't been able to send as many letters.
"I'm sorry. With everything that's happening with the Qunari lately, I've been occupied" Garrett said frowning.
"I understand. Being in the Circle isn't all bad you know? I like teaching the little ones, they remind me of myself when I was little girl. Scared of their magic and a lot of them feel abandoned, I try to make them feel safe" Bethany said.
The sound of music got both of their attention and they turned seeing the main attraction for the evening entering the ball room.
A band of famous Orlesian musicians.
The Hawke siblings watched bemused as the Kirkwall nobility descended in droves to the dance floor, where once only a few couple here and there had danced, now dozens of couples were emerging.
"You'd better go. I'm sure the noblewomen will be upset if they don't get a dance with the infamous Garrett Hawke" Bethany said lightly.
It was good to see him again, but she knew their reunion was short-lived.
"Why don't you join me?" Garrett asked suddenly.
Bethany blinked in confusion.
"Garrett... I can't. It wouldn't be proper."
"I don't care about proper. What's wrong Beth? I remember you used to dance with mother and father? Have you forgotten how?" Garrett said.
Bethany laughed as she took his hand, following him onto the dance floor.
Their dance was short, but for Bethany it was more than enough. It was a chance to live again, some of the nobility looked at strange sight warily but said nothing.
To be fair, it did make quite an usual sight, a Circle mage dancing with one of the most important people in Kirkwall.
However, for those who knew Garrett, they saw it as a brother dancing with his little sister.
Later, after Aveline had drunk far too much champagne, Bethany found herself sharing a dance with the Guard Capatin herself while her brother watched on laughing.
The night had been good to her, the reunion a breathe of new life for her, but when the ball was over the templars took her and the other mages back to the Circle.
Garrett had promised to write more, and as Bethany had known since she was a little girl, her brother always kept his promises.
The weeks went by in the Circle, and Bethany found herself getting letter after letter, even as she helped teach the younger mages.
And in time, the templars allowed her to write back more.
The night Garrett Hawke became Champion of Kirkwall, was also the day Bethany saw a glimpse of a dark future she never wished to see again.
The possibility that Garrett would die too...
The Qunari had waged war on Kirkwall. They'd begun in the dead of night, taking down the City Guard and with ease, and throwing the templars into disarray.
Bethany, having moved up in the ranks of the Circle, was accompanying First Enchanter Orsino along with several other mages when the Battle for Kirkwall had began.
In the in suing chaos, Bethany and the other Circle mages had been thrown into a rushed alliance, with the templars, the remaining City Guard, and her brother.
They'd fought their way to the Viscount Keep, where Garrett challenged the Arishok himself to single combat.
A duel for the city itself.
Bethany had watched, unable to act, unable to step in, as her brother faced the greatest warrior the Qun had to offer.
Wielding a greatsword in one had, and a battleax in the other, the Arishok had nearly slaughtered Garrett several times.
But Garrett, while smaller, was quicker and danced around his foe.
Bethany shook in terror as the Arishok brought his battleax down on Garrett's shield with so much force that it cracked in two, sending shards flying throughout the Viscount's Keep.
Garrett would have been cut in two, if not for his quick reflexes. Bethany had breathed a sigh of relief as he rolled out of the Arishok's reach before getting to his feet again warily.
Bethany had hated having to watch, hated feeling so useless.
She'd nearly burned the Arishok alive more than once, but Varric had grabbed her hand shaking his head at her.
"I know it's hard Sunshine, but Hawke has to do this on his own" Varric had told her.
So she had watched in nervous admiration as her brother managed to get a few strikes past the Arishok's defense.
She'd gasped in horror when the mighty Qunari had managed to graze Garrett's chest with his greatsword, a graze the tore through his armor leaving a trail of blood in its wake.
But Garrett, fighting through the pain, had leapt forward and stabbed the Arishok straight through the heart.
The Qunari had watched dumbfounded as their glorious leader had fallen.
"It is done" Garrett had panted before all the court of Kirkwall, over the Arishok's body.
Whilst the crowd cheered and the Qunari had honored their agreement to leave the city, Bethany only watched eyes wide as her brother leaned against a wall... breathing heavily as blood dripped down from his chest.
There, barely able to stand and bleeding heavily, Garrett Hawke had been named Champion of Kirkwall by the gathered nobility. Yet Garrett had never once faltered, he stood before the crowd as they cheered his name, he let the people have their hero.
...
Later, Garrett had laid in bed for weeks.
A ragged scar running across his chest, barely able to walk, and looking as if he'd aged another five years. The Arishok's blow had almost been deadly, the duel would be the stuff of legends for decades to come, yet Bethany couldn't care in the slightest.
She was only glad that her only surviving sibling was still living despite the close call.
She stayed by her brother's bedside the whole time, just as his friends and allies did.
He'd needed the Circle Healers to aid his recovery, and it had been she whom had helped him take his first steps again.
Things had changed by then however, Garrett had become the single most important person in Kirkwall after Meredith and the Grand Cleric.
He had more power and influence than he knew what to do with, yet the people cheered his name in the streets, and many a commoner remembered the ruggedly handsome refugee who'd arrived to the city in chains with little more than the clothes on his back.
To them, Garrett was a self made man.
Things changed for Bethany too, no longer was she just an extremely gifted Circle Mage, she was now sister to the Champion of Kirkwall himself.
Though Meredith did not enjoy it in the slightest, Bethany was given special treatment by both Orsino and the Nobility of Kirkwall.
For a time, life was good for the Hawke siblings.
Garrett started taking things easier, and Bethany was given more time away from the Circle, and though she could never stay long, always with a templar escort, for a time they were as brother and sister again.
They visited their mother's grave together, and finally had closure.
She'd helped him escape several rather persistent suitors, and he'd listen to her tales of working with the Circle, of becoming a teacher, and earning the title of Enchanter.
But as time went on, Garrett found himself missing their reunions as the city demanded his attention, and the growing conflict of the templars' control over the city emerged.
Still, on Bethany's twenty fourth birthday, Garrett ditched a rather important city meeting for her.
He and Varric had even gotten her a cake, and they'd celebrated at the Hanged Man with all their friends.
"I promised I'd always be there for you" Garrett had said as they sat at a private booth.
"I know" Bethany had said smiling.
Life, it seemed, was cruel. Bethany would have thought she'd learned that lesson the first time.
The day Anders blew up the Kikrwall Chantry, slaughtering dozens of innocent people, she thought it was some cruel nightmare.
How could the world be so cruel as to throw away everything she and her brother had built, everything they'd painstakingly crafted with what life had dealt them?
Meredith had called for the Right of Annulment, the entire Circle of Magi to purged, all mages put to death.
The battle throughout the city had been worse than the clash with the Qunari.
The templars hunting throughout the city, but still some mages escaped the city in chains and spread word to the other Circles.
Rebellion was coming, Anders had succeeded it seemed.
Bethany had stood her ground with First Enchanter Orsino and the other Circle mages, and Garrett and his companions had stood with her.
They stood with the Mages.
But in the end, neither side had been pure of intent.
Orsino had dabbled into forbidden arts and transformed himself into an abomination, all for the sake of the mages, but his power proved his corruption.
Garrett and Bethany, along with his companions, the City Guard, and the remaining Circle mages had had to put him down.
Meredith had been corrupted and driven mad by a fragment of the red lyrium that Varric's brother, Bartand, had discovered in his expedition years ago.
The Knight Commander had turned against both her templars and the mages, and in so doing turned all against her.
When the battle was over, Meredith knelt dead and imprisoned within the red lyrium that corrupted her body and soul.
The templars and mages had parted ways that night, both sides having to regroup after the losses suffered.
Sir Cullen had grown weary of battle, as had Garrett.
Both sides knew war was coming, the Circles would be in open rebellion and the templars would most likely have the full support of the Chantry behind them.
Aveline ended up staying in Kirkwall, as guard captain she couldn't leave it behind.
Sebastian Vael, the Prince of Starkhaven, had left the city vowing vengeance against the mages for their hand in the murder of the Grand Cleric.
But for as Garrett, Bethany, and their companions?
They knew they couldn't stay anymore, whether they wanted to or not, they were a part of this madness.
Word of the slaughter in the Kirkwall Circle had spread quickly.
Anders had become a rallying cry, a remainder that mighty templars could be defied.
Garrett had also become involved, becoming a symbol of hope. For he had defended the mages and saved countless lives in Kirkwall.
One by one, the rest of their companions had parted ways with them, saying their farewells in an uncertain future.
For a time, the Hawke siblings traveled together. They were decent times, but they could not last.
When Garrett and Bethany had parted ways, it was under the promise that they'd see other again.
Fearing that Divine Justinia V was planning an Exalted March on Kirkwall and the Free Marches, Garrett had decided to travel alone and in so doing divide the Divine's forces should she send them to hunt him for his involvement in Kirkwall, where it had began.
As for Bethany, she'd decided that her fellow mages in the Free Marches needed help. She would aid them in the troubling days to come.
"I never thanked you" Bethany said on the day of their parting.
Garrett had arched an eyebrow at her.
"For standing up for my people, for standing by my side" she said.
"I could never stand against you Beth" Garrett had said.
"I love you for that, but you didn't have to do it. You didn't have to get involved... thank you" Bethany said honestly.
"Everything's changing now. Be careful out there Sis" Garrett said.
"I should be telling you to be careful, knowing how trouble always finds you. I'll be fine, I'm not that little girl anymore, I can take care of myself" Bethany said softly.
"I know" Garrett said smiling.
Once, Bethany would have thought he was just being kind to her. But this time, she could tell he was honest, he believed in her.
"I'll miss you" Bethany said sadly.
"We're flesh and blood Beth. No matter what happens, I'll always be there for you, I promise." Garrett said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Because that's what big brothers are for" the Hawke siblings had said in unison, sharing once last embrace.
The present
Bethany sat in a bench of the Skyhold garden.
It had been a place for her to think away from the tavern noise, and she'd grown tired of telling drunk soldiers that she wasn't looking for accompany.
One man had tried to get touchy and Bethany had called forth a ball of fire in the palm of her hand.
"I'd like to be alone now" she had said, completely deadpan as the flame magic hovered calmly before her.
The man had left shortly after, frightened beyond his wits.
The sun was setting as Bethany sat in the garden, but she hardly noticed.
"You look like him" a voice said suddenly.
Bethany looked up to see the Inquisitor herself.
The Inquisitor took a seat beside her without waiting for an invitation.
"People have been saying I look like my brother for all my life" Bethany muttered.
"Take it as a compliant. Hawke is a good looking man" the Inquisitor said.
Bethany said nothing.
"You know, if I wasn't in a relationship I'd have no shame in admitting that if Hawke had turned his attention towards me then I'd have returned them" the Inquisitor laughed.
She's funny. No wander Varric likes her Bethany thought.
"Inquisitor-" Bethany began
"Please, call me Lyanna" the Inquisitor interrupted.
"Lyanna, did Varric tell you I was here?" Bethany asked.
"That, and there was a story going around the tavern about a man who'd foolishly tried to grope a mage. Nearly got his face burned off" Lyanna said.
Bethany shrugged and Lyanna laughed.
"You know, when people first meet it's polite to shake hands" Lyanna said.
Bethany raised a hand and Lyanna shook it.
"Varric didn't say how long you were planning to stay. If you're only visiting, then stop by the tavern later and I'll buy you a drink. If you plan on staying with the other mages here, stop by the tavern and I'll still buy you a drink" Lyanna said smirking.
Bethany chuckled at that.
"I haven't decided yet" Bethany said.
"If you need anything... you need only ask. It's the least I can do" Lyanna said growing serious.
"Thank you, but I'm fine. I think I'll go and rent a room, it's getting dark" Bethany said getting to her feet.
As Bethany was walking away, the Inquisitor called out to her.
"Your brother was a hero, you know" Lyanna said.
Bethany stopped in her tracks. Frozen mid step.
"He fought alongside me in the Fade. Saved my life once too, pulled a demon off me with his bare hands and stabbed it. Then he took on the Nightmare all by himself. The Inquisition and its forces, as well as the Wardens owe their lives to him. Hawke was a hero" Lyanna said, her eyes shinning with pride for a fellow legend of Thedas.
Bethany turned back to face the Inquisitor.
"I didn't want a hero... I wanted my brother" Bethany said, her eyes hollow.
Lyanna's face fell, she had no words.
"Goodnight" Bethany murmured turning her back on one of the most powerful women in all of Thedas.
Bethany walked off into the night alone, wiping the tears from her eye.
The last Hawke.
Garrett... you promised you'd always be there for me. Why couldn't you keep that promise?
That's something that really got to me, if you choose to leave Garrett behind in the Fade.
Bethany being the last Hawke, her parents both dead, her twin dead, and now her older brother gone.
She would be alone...
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