Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in this chapter, I know it has been quite some time since I have updated any of my stories, but here it is! This will be the final chapter of this story, there will be other tales for Female Hawke and her companions in this same verse, but those are for another time. But until then, please enjoy the final chapter of The Tale of the Hero and the Champion!
The couple stands in a silent embrace in front of the Commander of the Grey's tent, each woman afraid to think that this may be the last time either one see each other. Suddenly the flap to the tent opens and Leliana steps out in front of them, "Hawke... Lyna wishes to speak to you now."
Marian sighs quietly as she makes to turn for the tent when she feels a slight tug on her arm, "Be careful Sweet Thing." Isabela states quietly before giving her lover a tight smile and walking slowly down the path.
"I promise," Hawke whispers, though she knows that Isabela could not hear her. The thought of the phrase passing her lips seemed sufficient at the time, so she steels herself before reaching for the flap of the entrance to the tent and enters the confines of the canvas walls.
"Come here, Hawke."
Marian looks to the direction that Lyna's voice had came from and she notices the Dalish woman is standing beside the table that sat in the far corner of the tent staring at the parchments that littered the desk in front of her. Walking slowly towards the table, the Champion of Kirkwall takes the few precious seconds that she has before she reaches her destination to come up with a plan in case the conversation became hostile.
"I don't think you understand how much of a pain in the arse you really are, Hawke," Lyna says without looking up from the parchments in front of her, "Try as I might, I seem to not be able to persuade you to see things the way I do."
Hawke feels the tension in her shoulders lessen at the sound of the elf's voice, the Hero of Fereldan did not seem to be as upset as Marian had feared, she seemed more relaxed and understanding. "Well, I have often been told that I can be a stubborn person," the rogue quips as she closes the distance between herself and the table that Lyna was standing at.
"Hmm, I would have to agree with the person who said that," the Dalish rogue says with a smirk as she finally looks up from the parchment in front of her. "I understand what you said before, hell, I feel the same way most of the time, but the fact of the matter still remains, not all people are inherently good. I have found that out the hard way on several occasions. Sure, most of the blood mages that I have ran into in the past were mainly from the Circle and were sick and tired of the constant oversight and thought that turning to blood magic would help them in their endeavours, but there were a few who were apostates, like your sister, that I have came across as well." The elf sighs and Marian notices the stress that Lyna had been holding back from others finally seep through her stoic façade. "I honestly do not know what all is going to happen and quite frankly this whole mess has me confused, but the Chantry has called upon the Grey Wardens to help as much as we can, so here we are."
"But, I thought that the Grey Wardens mainly dealt with more... uh... Darkspawn and Blight-related matters?"
"That is true, Hawke, but drastic times call for drastic measures. The time of the Blight has passed, so now the Grey Wardens are to protect the lands of Thedas from situations in which the armies of Thedas find themselves faltering," the elf steps away from the table and walks towards the map on the canvas wall. "As you can see, every land will be effected if the mage revolt reaches its pinnacle."
"I do not understand why we have to maintain such a strict hold on the mages. The Tevinter Imperium allows their mages the freedoms that non-magical citizens have and life seems to be much happier there for everyone. No one is fearful of the crazed demon enthralled mage that could be lurking in any shadowed corner as we are, and..."
"And yet the mages there all hold slaves. Is that what you want in the rest of Thedas, Hawke? To be a thrall for someone else? To spend your life in the service of some rich master that holds your life by a single spider silk?" Lyna asks as she spins to face the human.
"No. I wouldn't," Marian replies, "But that is the difference between here and the Tevinter. Slavery is illegal here, it will just not pop up over night. We can make everything better for everyone here," the human stares at the elf, determination gleaming in her eyes, "you know we can Lyna."
"Yes we could, but at what cost, Hawke?" The elfish rogue walks over to the wall where the canvas is covered completely with parchments of faces and names of known blood mages and their accomplices, "Even if we only wipe out the blood mages and absolve the age-old sin of the mages by throwing out the Chantry's Circle, how can we keep the peace? How can you change a lifetime of thinking that has been ingrained into our civilization? Now, do not get me wrong, Marian..." Lyna turns to face the human once again while crossing her arms over her chest, "I full-heartedly agree with you, not all mages are bad and no one should be subjected to what the mages endure while under templar care, but the fact still remains that they will be safer with the rules that have been in place since the time of Andraste than if we allow them the freedom of everyone else. If we just..."
"If we just keep the mages in cages, everything will be safer and better for everyone else?" Hawke arches an eyebrow and stares at the Hero of Fereldan, "You should know how things like this end, Lyna, you of all people should know. Or have you forgotten your own heritage? Have you forgotten the Fall of the Dales?" The Champion shakes her head, "I may not be Dalish, but I remember the stories that some of your clan members told me before they moved back to Fereldan. I gained more respect for the Dalish after hearing those stories and I would have thought that someone as strong and stubborn as you would have remembered them as well.
"Also, I would have thought that after the defeat of the Archdemon and boon you asked of Queen Anora, I would have thought that you would have been one of the first people to help another group of people whose past is somewhat similar to your own people's past."
Marian turns away from the elf when it seemed that the woman did not have a response to her lecture. Walking towards the entrance to the tent, the human rogue pauses slightly hoping that her words have indeed reached the ears of the other woman and hopes that the madness of the possibility of another war will reach an end.
"I have not forgotten my heritage, Hawke. I do not think I could ever forget something like that," Lyna says in a hushed tone. "My people have always been at the forefront of my mind no matter what I have been through. I just..." The elf pauses with a sigh runs a hand over her face, "I just never thought of the mage's plight to be as similar as my own. You were right before, Keeper Marethari, Merrill, even my own father had places of high regard among the clans, yet here I am trying to ruin the lives of people who are just trying to live their own life without the oversight of someone else telling them that this is how they are to spend the rest of their lives. This all has gone on long enough," The elf walks back to the table in the middle of the tent and stares down at the large pile of parchments that covered it, "Go... I don't care where and I do not wish to know where, but just go. Things have been set in motion already and they may not be able to be stopped, but I will try."
The Champion of Kirkwall stares at the other woman for a moment, unsure if the statement was not a trick created by the elf. But when Lyna continues to stare at the parchments in front of her, Marian reaches out for the flap and walks out into the blinding sun.
"What happened? Is everything okay?" Isabela questions, standing up from her seat on a stump closest to the main tent.
"Yeah, we are free to go," Hawke replies with a smile on her lips.
"Free to go?! As in 'get out or we will hunt you down', free to go, or 'we have no use for you', free to go?"
"It's the second one Bela," Marian states calmly, though she wonders if it may have been the first sort of free to go that Isabela had mentioned that the elf truly wanted of them. "Where are the rest of our group?"
The pirate gives the rogue a quick kiss on the lips, excitement gleaming in her eyes, "Everyone decided to go look for something to eat while I waited for you to emerge from the Commander of the Grey's tent. What went on in there, Sweet Thing? How were you able to get us all out of this mess?"
Hawke wraps an arm around the swashbuckler's waist and leads her towards the trail of the main encampment, "Well, remember when I said that I thought that all the things that Lyna was saying sounded rehearsed?" The pirate nods her head and waits patiently for her lover to continue, "Well, I believe that it was. Leliana, or Sister Nightingale, has been a part of the Chantry for quite some time, so that would mean that the Hero of Fereldan has been a part of the Chantry for some time as well. So, given that amount of time, Lyna must have forgotten her own people's plight, I just reminded her of it is all."
"So? This is it? No more bullshit from the Chantry? No more 'you have to save the world or else we will kill you'? " Isabela stops the Champion and places her hand on Hawke's cheek, "We will be able to live our lives how we want to?"
"As far as I know, yes. Yes we will be able to do whatever we want without the Chantry harassing us at every turn," Hawke smiles genuinely when she sees the pirate's eyes light up with glee.
Isabela jumps into Marian's arms and kisses her passionately. When air became a necessity, the pirate queen leans her forehead against the rogue's and smiles, "So... about Château Haine... can we still go there? I mean, if you still want to and all."
"And miss out on all the treasure we missed while we were there the first time? Who do you think I am, Aveline?"
"Hawke... I hope that was a joke. I would hate to see you turn into Aveline," a voice says from behind the couple.
Turning around with Isabela still in her arms, Marian smirks when she sees the Varric, Bethany, and Merrill walking up the trail, "Of course it was a joke, Varric. I would want you all to hit me on the head with any large, heavy metal object you could find if I ever started to think like Aveline." Gently lowering the pirate to the ground, Hawke stares at the group of people that have became her family throughout the years and smiles, "So. Who is ready to find the treasure of Château Haine?"
