Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.

- Josh Billings

There was only one reason Templars showed up in Darktown, Bethany thought as she quietly packed as much as she could in her small satchel. They wouldn't dirty the soles of their boots in the place unless they were looking for something…or someone…specifically.

Such a simple thing. A collision of everyone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Just a little girl who had sprained her wrist. Bethany hadn't felt good about letting her go home by herself that close to evening, so she had followed. Sure enough, a man had come out of the shadows without noticing Bethany, intent on his prey. She threw him halfway across the street right as she caught the gleam of armor out of the corner of her eye.

Somehow, Bethany had known the day would come when she'd be forced to choose between protecting someone and maintaining her anonymity. She'd thought it would Alessa or her mother she would have to protect, but that had been when it was just the three of them…well, and Uncle Gamlen.

But with the addition of her friends like Isabela and Anders and Varric, there was a sense of responsibility to the clinic and the people in it since Anders had trusted her to help run it. Not only the patients, but the mages that Anders was helping escape or pass through Kirkwall.

Much later on in their lives, it would be Alessa who asked her if she deliberately set herself in the Templars' path. Anders never asked her; he already knew. At the time, she had thought she was protecting the clinic and her mother, but upon retrospect, her fear of going to the Circle actually started to fade as the idea of it became closer to reality.

Bethany glanced at the door to her mother's room and laid a note on the table. Not the kindest way to say goodbye, but her mother would do whatever was in her power to stop her and Bethany didn't want to face that fight. She was only happy Alessa wasn't here. She didn't even want to think about her sister's reaction. The only person who knew already was Rhea. She wasn't happy about it, but the need to protect the clinic ran even deeper in her than it did in Bethany.

Ser Alrik, the templar who had spotted her, was coming out of the Viscount's Keep when she reached it. If he had been alone, she would have turned right around and just gone to the Gallows herself rather than seeking a templar out. There was something wrong with that man. It was in his eyes, the way he seemed to have to force his expression out of a leer.

But Knight Captain Cullen was with him too. Alessa and Varric had met him about a month ago when they were helping Aveline investigate some disappearances around Kirkwall. Several of them had been Templars, which had gotten the order involved. A blood mage had been forcing possessions on mage and templar alike- between him and his group and the blood mage they'd come across a couple weeks earlier, she had seen more blood mages in a year than she had all her life –and they'd rescued one of them. She wasn't quite sure what she felt about Alessa's glee over the fact the templars were just as susceptible as the mages, but Alessa had mentioned Cullen seemed the decent sort…for a Templar.

"We should have the Rite ready and waiting the moment she's brought in," Alrik was saying eagerly as they came into earshot.

"That isn't for you to decide," Cullen said shortly.

"You didn't see this mage, Captain! I'm not sure even five men would be enough. Remember the incident in the Chantry…" he trailed off and both men stopped as they caught sight of her, standing there patiently.

Alrik pulled his sword and pointed it at her. "Stand where you are, apostate!"

Bethany didn't reply, simply looking at him. She didn't need to make any comment; her silence turned that ridiculous posturing into a joke all by itself. Alrik flushed red, but before he could say anything, Cullen was moving toward her, gesturing at his subordinate to put his sword away. He was studying her with furrowed brows. "Bethany Hawke?"

"Yes. I've come to turn myself over to the Circle, Knight Captain."

"It's a trick, ser!" Alrik snapped.

"No trick." Bethany's voice was quiet. "I was hoping if I come willingly and without a fight, you might consider letting my family go."

Alrik sneered at her. "How noble."

"Ser Alrik." Cullen turned his head and looked over his shoulder at the other templar. "Go fetch Vera and Calor. Wait at the stairs, I'll be there to join you shortly."

Alrik looked like he'd been slapped. "But, Captain…"

"That's an order." Cullen didn't raise his voice, but there was an edge of steel to it now. Alrik looked like he wanted to argue but that tone quelled him. He shot Bethany a baleful look as he strode off. Cullen turned his attention back to her. "Harboring an apostate is a very serious crime in Kirkwall. You have to know that."

"I do."

"Will you put up a fight if I don't agree? Even knowing you can't win?"

"Yes," Bethany said simply. Now her voice had a steely edge and Cullen could see she meant it. At that moment, she reminded him vividly of another young mage he'd known once. She had that same quiet strength and cool resolve. He would never say, especially not with the Knight Commander around, that his agreement to her terms didn't truly come from wanting to keep the peace as much as it came from how much Bethany Hawke reminded him of Malaina at that moment.

"Very well." He took hold of her arm, his grip firm but not crushing. "Bethany Hawke, I will escort you to the Gallows and turn you over to the First Enchanter. I'll send someone to inform your family."

Leandra didn't take the news well at all. She sat staring blankly into the fire for two days afterward; enough Gamlen was genuinely starting to worry. It was only when Alessa returned shaken but alive from the Deep Roads that Leandra could finally be stirred to leave the house.

One thing that categorized a successful demon was an exquisite sense of timing.

Hawke figured the thing had been watching them for some time, gauging the exact moment when it didn't want more of its feast- the Profane –destroyed and when the group was at the right level of desperation to appear before them.

Even exhausted, Alessa couldn't help but be fascinated by the fact a demon had possessed one of the rock wraiths. They couldn't just be constructs, then, because constructs could not be possessed. They had to be alive…or completely dead. A Hunger Demon, according to Anders. Which made sense. The rock wraiths, or Profane, as the demon proclaimed them, were nothing but hunger, forever trying to sate it with the lyrium in the walls. Their insatiable nature made them a smorgasbord for such a creature.

Two days, by Alessa's estimation. Two days of struggling and they had barely made any progress further into the thaig. The Profane and the shades feeding off them were everywhere. Each time they thought they found a way around them, they reappeared or blindsided them. Varric had very nearly been killed when he'd turned a corner and come face to face with two of them at once.

They wouldn't survive at the rate they were going, not with the supplies they had. Even if they got to a place the rock wraiths wouldn't go, they wouldn't have supplies enough to get through the rest of the journey.

They might not have enough anyway, but for certain they wouldn't if they had to battle constantly and then stop to rest only for a few hours. It was taking its toll on all of them.

That was when the demon had shown itself and offered a trade. It exerted a certain amount of control over the Profane. Enough it could order them not to attack. It also knew a door to the surface. The price? Well, that was the problem.

A rock wraith so old and powerful even the demon could not control or defeat it stood between them and the possibility of freedom. It came down, Varric said dully, to whether they wanted to fight a whole bunch of little ones plus the demon possessed one…or take their chances with the really big one.

Seemed like an easy choice at the time, despite Anders and Fenris objecting.

Alessa pushed herself to her feet shakily, every muscle in her body aching from being thrown against a pillar. Hands took a hold of her arms and pulled her behind it as the air started to vibrate, hurting her ears. The source was a churning ball of energy and rock in the center of the vault. It was the second time the ancient rock wraith had done this, and they knew to grab shelter this time around. She dimly felt someone pressing her closer to the pillar, bending over her, a lithe body shielding hers as the vibration in the air became a roar and a blast of wind and energy plowed through the chamber.

The weight shielding her disappeared and she heard Fenris' voice in her ear. "Get to Isabela." Then he was charging around the pillar, his markings glowing so brightly it was almost blinding.

Isabela.

The thought had Hawke shakily pushing herself to her feet and stumbling around the pillar, searching around for the last place she had seen the pirate. She hadn't gotten out of the way in time the first time the rock wraith had done its damned trick.

It hadn't hit her directly. Hawke kept repeating that over and over again as she circled around the open area where Fenris was attacking the rock wraith furiously. After it released energy in an attack like that, it seemed to need a minute to gather itself, making it vulnerable for a brief window. Varric ran out to aid Fenris, catching Hawke's eye and pointing toward a corner of the chamber. She veered in that direction, breaking into a run as the rock wraith started to stir. Anders appeared from another part of the chamber, calling something she couldn't make out, his staff whirling. In a show of synchronicity they were not capable of outside of battle, Fenris kept the rock wraith occupied for a moment, giving Anders time to queue up a spell, before dodging out of the way and giving the mage a clear shot.

Hawke spotted a crumpled form ahead and hurried forward, dropping beside it. Isabela had indeed managed to keep from being hit directly by the rock wraith's energy, but it had caught one side of her. Her arm had taken the brunt of it, burns etching her olive skin. Hawke dug around in her pack. The potions she made personally were measured into small bottles and a couple large ones which held the biggest dose of potion it was safe to have at one time. She had one large one left and jerked it free from the pack, pulling Isabela up and slapping her lightly until her eyes flickered. She tipped the potion against the other woman's lips. Isabela coughed as the first bit of potion drizzled down her throat, and then her uninjured arm came up and gingerly took hold of the bottle, her throat working as she started to swallow it down. The potion went to work immediately. It wouldn't fix everything, but the burn on her arm faded considerably, the cracked, blackened skin knitting together and smoothing out until it was an angry red mark on her skin.

Isabela coughed and opened her eyes, blinking up at Hawke without recognition for a long moment, then her expression cleared and she turned a glare toward the rock wraith. Hawke took a hold of her elbow and hauled her up. Isabela stumbled to her feet with a pained grunt, using Hawke as a support for a moment while she steadied herself. "Think the idea of facing an army of the little ones and then facing this thing will make Fenris and the mage quit bitching?"

"No."

Isabela snorted out a laugh and gathered her daggers up. "Come on, Hawke, we can't let the boys have all the fun."

"Isabela…"

"I'm fine, don't be dreary." Isabela sauntered toward the center of the chamber like she was headed toward a party instead of a life or death battle. Hawke had little choice but to follow.

Isabela shouted and whirled, dragging Hawke out of the way as the rock wraith pulled another one of its little tricks, disappearing into the ground and reforming itself out of Fenris' reach, right in front of Isabela and Hawke. It swung at them with a heavy stone arm and they both rolled out of the way.

And then the thing stumbled, rocking forward as Varric fired a series of shots straight at the glowing center of it. Hawke felt a surge of hope. That flickering energy was definitely dimmer than it had been when the thing had first attacked, and its movements were becoming more disjointed. In a desperate move, it levitated off the ground and hovered in the air, its form turning into a ball. Hawke dove for a pillar, rolling behind one and coming up against Varric as the thing released a wave of energy again. But it wasn't as strong as the last one and the stones that made up its form fell in a rain around its core as it tumbled to the ground, dazed again. Fenris flew out from around a pillar and struck at it. Varric pulled himself up, shooting Hawke a wild look. "It's dying, Hawke! We've got the bastard!"

She lunged after him, shaking her last explosive bottle and rushing up to the beast as it started to pull itself together again. She jammed the vibrating bottle in between two of its rocks and motioned for everyone to get away. Anders shouted something and slammed the bottle with a spell, making the explosion twice as powerful, actually blowing one of the thing's arms off and sending it flying across the chamber. Of course, it came floating right back a few minutes later, but the damage to the creature was done. It was visibly stumbling as it moved now. Making a rumbling sound that was ten times worse than the hungry rumbling of its lesser kin. It made her stomach drop and her ears hurt.

But it was weaker than it had been.

Varric shouted a warning as the creature disappeared through the ground and reappeared mere feet from her. Hawke managed to spin out of the way in time to avoid the full force of the blow it aimed at her. It clipped her side, slamming her into the ground. Varric snarled a curse in the dwarven language and launched another volley of arrows into its center. Almost immediately after, Anders hit it with another spell, and mere seconds after that Fenris came flying out of nowhere, dealing the creature's skeletal center a crushing blow. The thing let out a hissing screech, hanging in the air for a moment before it simply fell apart, becoming nothing more than a pile of rubble, the red energy powering it fading away.

The five of them stood in a circle around it, looking at each other. They were all a mess, bloodied and beaten within an inch of their lives, but still alive, and victorious.

They'd destroyed a creature that even a demon feared.

Of course, he and Hawke had planned on screwing the demon over from the very start.

That didn't make Varric any less annoyed when the thing reappeared in front of them, demanding they take the key to the surface and leave, claiming the rest of it for its own.

The rest of it being piles upon piles of gold, jewels, and scrolls enough to make the fortune Bartrand was going to get for the idol look like a pittance.

The demon, selfish bastard that it was, threatened them viciously. But after the damned rock wraith, the threats rang hollow. They'd earned the treasure, dammit, they'd earned it ten times over. What was the hunger demon going to do with all of it down here anyway? Even as Hawke glanced over at him and raised an eyebrow, he brought Bianca up. The demon growled, but again, after the rock wraith they'd just faced…well it sounded like a kitten after hearing a tiger roar in your ear.

Bianca was more than happy to show her disdain of the thing, firing bolts straight into the center of it in rapid succession. The demon collapsed, howling, finished off with embarrassing ease. "Bianca says, 'The treasure is ours'."

After the trials deep within the thaig, even darkspawn seemed dull in comparison. Varric never forgot the way Hawke's eyes lit up when they reached the surface, how excited she was at the thought of being able to get her mother and her sister out of the slums and hopefully back into the family's old mansion. They'd done the impossible and come out with more riches than they ever could have imagined, the whole world seemed to be at their feet.

The day after they stumbled back into Kirkwall, Varric learned that Bethany had been taken to the Circle. Stunned and upset, Hawke came to the Hanged Man to tell him about it. He'd never felt more sorry for her than he did right then. So much of her life had been focused on protecting her sister and she had ultimately failed right when she had thought she would be able to keep her safe for life.

Of course, it took Hawke a long time to accept that Bethany was content in the Circle, at least for the first couple of years. Bethany was relieved to be able to practice magic without endangering her family, to be surrounded by mages, even if they were basically imprisoned.

She was put through her Harrowing- the test all mages had to pass to prove they could withstand the call of demons in the Fade -almost immediately at the Knight Commander's order. Everyone expected her to fail, and the Templars present- Ser Alrik in particular -were all a bit perturbed by how easily Bethany passed, entering the Circle's senior levels and under the First Enchanter's supervision.

Of course, when Thrask came to the Hanged Man and told Hawke her sister had passed the Harrowing, Hawke had looked at him like he was and idiot and replied simply: "Of course she did."

Varric called those two events that gave each of the Hawke sisters a foothold in Kirkwall's structure yet another link in the great city's chain. And even though it was Hawke who stepped forward to take the main part in the drama that unfolded over the next few years, Varric was willing to bet one of the things Knight Commander Meredith Stannard regretted in the final years was not killing Bethany Hawke when she had the chance.