The door to Carroll's cell banged open, and he squinted in the sudden light. Two of Sebastian's guards, as well as the templar Brear, stood in the doorway.
"His Royal Highness wishes to speak with you, Ser." One guard said, obviously nervous of the famed apostate Champion of Kirkwall. "If you would come with us?" Hawke stood up, nervous of what punishment Sebastian would impose, and hoping he would get to see Anders before the sentence was carried out. He walked along the hallways of the castle, flanked by the two guards and templar. Eventually, they got to Sebastian's sleeping quarters, where the guards stepped away from Carroll, but remained nearby, vigilant.
"Sebastian." Hawke greeted nervously.
"Hawke." The prince replied. He turned to face the mage, and beckoned towards another room. "Close your eyes, and come with me." Carroll followed, curious and slightly anxious about where Sebastian was taking him. They took several flights of stairs up and down, and hallways until Hawke was thoroughly disorientated, which he assumed was Sebastian's plan. Eventually they stopped at a door that could have anywhere in the castle. "Forgive me for the secrecy," Sebastian said, "But I can't run the risk that you know the exact location of Anders's body – I want no-one to know he has been killed, or he will become a martyr." Carroll opened his mouth to argue, then changed his mind, nodding agreeably.
"I... guess that makes sense. Can I... Can I see him?" Sebastian nodded.
"If you don't mind, we will discuss suitable burial arrangements later." Teary eyed, Hawke nodded again submissively. "I'll leave you to it for a while, Hawke. But if there's even a trace of magic..."
"Maker, Sebastian!" Hawke rounded on him angrily. "Why does it always boil down to mages being at fault with you? We're not the demons people say we are! I can guarantee you've fucked, lied, and killed your way through more people than me, I wonder what bloody Andraste would have to say about that?"
Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "Interesting you put fucking and killing in the same pile there, Hawke. Something you need to confess? I'm still licensed for the confessionals, so if you are interested let me know." With that, Sebastian turned away from Hawke and walked back to his sleeping quarters, leaving Hawke alone with the guards. Embarrassed, Hawke lowered his eyes from those of the guards, and walked into the room. He gasped in anguish when he saw Anders laid out on a wooden desk, cleaned up thoroughly, but an angry wound still showed on his neck. A gash spanned from the back of the man's neck all the way through to the front of his throat, flecks of encrusted blood dried around the wound, despite someone's decent attempts at cleaning his body up, which Hawke was somewhat thankful for, despite the circumstances. Pulling up a chair, he sat next to Anders. Taking a deep breath, Carroll placed Anders's cold hand in his warm one.
"Hello Love." He said, the trace of a smile in his voice, although he felt anything but. "I don't know if you can hear me. You've never been very religious, and I wasn't as good an Andrastian as I should've been, what with being an apostate and all. I'd like to think you're at peace now though... Let's hope so." Pausing briefly, Carroll wiped a couple of tears off the end of his nose. "I suppose I'll be a single father now, won't I? I'd hoped you might be able to hang on the last few months. Help me name the baby. Gosh, what am I going to name him? Or her. I hope it doesn't turn out like me, love. I wouldn't wish these difficulties on anyone. Well... Except maybe Isabella. Only because I'm sure it would be quite a novelty for her." Carroll laughed quietly, before his mood turned sombre again. "I don't know if I can do this without you, love. Sometimes I wish you'd never met that spirit. He closed his eyes, resting his head in his hands. "I suppose if you hadn't met Justice, you wouldn't have met me. So in a way, I'm grateful to him. A very odd way." Squeezing Anders's hand, Carroll stood up to leave. "I love you, Anders. You will forever be in my thoughts and prayers. At least Justice and you are at peace now."
Turning away from Anders to let the guards know he was finished, Hawke turned back to Anders for the final time, ready to say his last goodbyes.
And felt a hand on his shoulder.
O-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-O
Sebastian sat in his study, filling in forms after forms after forms. His head was still whirring as to what to do with Hawke – by no means was he to be set free, but Sebastian didn't want to hand him over to the authorities, or execute him either. That only left one option – to keep Hawke imprisoned under his custody. It wasn't like he could put him in the dungeon, though, if only for the sake of his child. And there was no way he was sleeping in the castle, either – that seemed more like a reward than a punishment. Thinking hard, Sebastian ran a hand through his auburn hair, his brow crinkled with ideas of what to do with Carroll Hawke. He could stay in a servant's house in the castle grounds, Sebastian supposed. There wasn't one free at the moment, but the head cook's wife had recently had twins, meaning their house was now too small for them. Sebastian figured he could move them into the castle for the moment, and get a new house built for them – perhaps with a n extra room on top of what they needed for when the children were older.
So now Hawke had an abode, and perhaps Lieutenant Emma Brear could be persuaded to be his personal guard and jailor. Sebastian still didn't know what to do about Hawke's punishment, however. It was a hard decision. The mage would have to be watched, and not allowed to use magic unsupervised, that much was for sure. Maker only knew how he could help the fallen Champion to atone for his crimes, but he would find a way.
Standing from his desk chair, Sebastian made his way back to where Anders's body was being kept, to see how Hawke was getting on. As he neared the end of the hallway the room was on, Sebastian's eyes widened. The door to the room where Anders was being kept was charred, and the soldiers outside were slamming themselves against the doorway, trying to get in. As he watched, a forcefield appeared outside the door, sending one of the guards sprawling, landing next to Sebastian's feet with a crash. Only then did Sebastian realise that there had been no sound before – Hawke must have put a noise muffling field round the door. Sebastian knelt down, and helped the dazed and confused man up.
"What happened, Guardsman? What's going on?"