49

Isabela headed for the ship, feeling an invisible rope tugging her back towards the city. Something wasn't right, she could feel it. She boarded her vessel, and gave some hurried orders to Dario. She let the last few minutes play through her mind. There'd been something wrong with Hawke. More than the obvious guilt and anguish. The look on her face, the intensity of her kiss… She was lying.

Isabela ran all the way to the Gallows, forgetting things like finesse and stealth. She was halfway through scurrying up a building for a good vantage point, when a steel gloved hand grabbed her foot and yanked her down onto the ground. She looked up and saw the shining armour of a templar.

"You and trouble seem to go hand in hand, whore" Carver Hawke announced as he pulled her to her feet and pinned her arms behind her back. He started marching her towards the courtyard.

"Carver, let me go. I think your sister's in danger. I have to help her."

He tightened his grip. "Yes, she is in danger. She's finally going to answer for her crimes, and you will be punished right along with her."

Carver dragged her into the courtyard where the Knight-Commander and a large group of her templars were waiting.

Meredith eyed Carver and Isabela off. "Isabela, isn't it? The one behind the Qunari uprising? Why am I not surprised to see you here?"

Isabela struggled fruitlessly against Carver's grip. "Hawke's not responsible for what Anders did. He acted alone, and Hawke cut his throat herself. Spare the mages, Knight-Commander."

Meredith shook her head. "I think it's gone too far for that now. The Champion has repelled most of my forces, but not before they watched Orsino turn on her. We'll give them a chance to tear each other apart, before we go in and assess the situation."

Isabela gritted her teeth. Of course Orsino had turned on Hawke. Wasn't that what happened every time Hawke did a selfless good deed?

After a few tense moments, a familiar looking templar stepped forward. "Knight-Commander, I would like permission to take a small squad of men through the building. The Champion is in need of assistance."

Meredith turned her gaze. "No, Cullen. She's chosen her fate. I won't lose any more of my men to her flames."

"I'll volunteer to accompany the Knight-Captain. I owe the Champion my life." A young blonde templar stepped forward.

"Stand down, Ser Kerran. I have already given the Knight-Captain my answer."

The two men looked to each other, before both stepping back into formation. "Yes, Knight-Commander" they muttered in unison.

The Circle building finally opened, and Hawke came stumbling out, covered in blood, with her hands up in surrender.

"I hear the First-Enchanter is a blood mage. I won't pretend to be surprised. Did you slay him at least, Champion?" the Knight-Commander asked.

Hawke nodded, and lowered her head, her voice full of emotion. "The First-Enchanter succumbed to a pride demon. He became an abomination, and I killed him. He was weak. He… was meant to be the best of us, our leader…"

Meredith scoffed. "I hear you've held that mantle for years now, Champion."

Hawke rested her defeated gaze upon the Knight-Commander. "What was I supposed to do? You house my people in a prison like they're criminals, and you turn a blind eye while your men commit atrocities. They force themselves on the women, they beat the men, and they inflict the Right of Tranquility on anybody who speaks against them. This is not what Andraste meant when she said that magic should not rule over man - "

"Enough! Lies! Baseless lies!" the Knight-Commander spat, "There is no justification for what you have done, Champion. You have been murdering my men and using your womanly wiles to trick the rest. You will pay for your crimes."

Hawke nodded. "I've killed your men, that's right. Most of your senior knights, in fact. And now you're surrounded by a group of green recruits. I can't take you all, but trust me, I have enough left in me to cripple the rest of your Order. The First-Enchanter lies dead, as well as most of his senior mages. But the apprentices have survived. Let them live, and you can have me. I won't resist. Hang me, burn me at the stake, mount my head on a spike, it doesn't matter."

The Knight-Commander looked Hawke up and down, and turned to her men. "The apprentices will be spared. Now that the corruption of Orsino and the Champion of Kirkwall has been stopped, they can be steered in a new direction." She rested her icy blue eyes back on Hawke. "Your sentence, Serah Hawke, will be death by beheading."

"NO!" Isabela yelled as she tried to kick her way out of Carver's grasp.

Hawke dropped to her knees, and unsheathed her staff, laying it down on the ground before her. "I accept my sentence, Knight-Commander. And, thank you. For the children's lives." She lowered her head, exposing the back of her neck.

"Hawke? Stand up! Fight back!" Isabela screamed, as Carver held her tighter.

Hawke kept her eyes trained on the ground. "I'm sorry, Bela. I wish you hadn't followed me here…"

Knight-Captain Cullen stepped forward. "This needs to stop, Meredith. The Champion is an exemplary mage, you've said so yourself. Let her take her place in the Circle. She can be the strong First-Enchanter that Orsino never was. There needs to be no more bloodshed."

"Don't, Cul. You know I'd rather die free than submit to the Circle" Hawke whispered audibly.

"Don't argue, my lady. Anything is better than death" he hissed back desperately.

A look of amusement passed over Meredith's face. "Ah, Knight-Captain. I did wonder when you would speak in her defense. You have always seen the Champion as a man sees a woman, instead of as a templar sees a mage. I know that the girl is pretty, Cullen, but to turn your back on your duty in such a way is unforgivable."

"I don't know what you mean, Knight-Commander" the templar said, standing up straighter.

Meredith laughed bitterly. "Do not insult me, Cullen. Did you really think all of your doting and visits to her mansion would escape my notice? I turned a blind eye while you had your way with her, but this cannot be ignored. Your duty is clear, and I won't have you defend her. Retrieve her staff, and stand back. I should have expelled you from the order the day that you gave it to her. You broke your vows to me, and to your brotherhood. You're a disgrace."

The realisation hit Isabela immediately. "The Knight-Captain, Hawke? Really?!"

"Cullen, you bedded my sister?!" Carver bristled behind Isabela's back.

Cullen flushed. "My previous relationship with Lady Hawke is irrelevant. You're going too far Meredith. Your hatred of magic has blinded you. You are no longer capable of rational thinking. As Knight-Captain of the Order, I hereby relieve you of your command."

Meredith lifted her blade towards Cullen. "Enough Cullen! You've spent too much time in her bed, and she's corrupted your mind. You are an idiot boy. This is exactly why we must keep our distance."

"My mind is my own, Knight-Commander. I'll not let you harm her." He withdrew his sword, and stood between Hawke and Meredith.

Meredith gestured to some of her templars. "Take the Knight-Captain into custody. He will answer the charges of consorting with a blood mage, conspiracy and insubordination."

A group of four confused looking templar recruits surrounded Cullen, pinning his arms back and removing his sword.

"Unhand me! This is not what the order stands for. Run, Hawke, run!" he yelled as he struggled.

Hawke looked up at him sadly and shook her head.

Meredith stepped towards Hawke. "Any last words, Champion?" she asked as she thumbed the hilt of her blade.

"Yes. Let my friend go. She was just passing through on her way to her ship. She had no part in this."

Meredith frowned furiously. "This woman should have been hung the day that the Arishok moved his troops against us. There will be no mercy for her."

Hawke met the icy gaze. "I don't see eye to eye with you, Meredith, but I know you are a woman of honour. I saved you once, and you owe me a life debt. I'm calling it in now. Let Isabela go."

Meredith hesitated, the muscles in her jaw clenching and unclenching. "Very well. She is free to live in permanent exile from Kirkwall."

Isabela felt the terror start to rise in her throat. "Hawke, no! I need you to get up and stop this! I won't watch you die!"

Hawke looked up and locked eyes with Isabela, tears streaking her face. "Then look away, my love."

Isabela knew she had to act. "Carver, she's your sister. You're not seriously going to stand by and watch while she has her head lopped off?"

His grip loosened slightly. "I… Yes, I am, my duty is clear…"

"You can't hate her that much Carver. What would your parents say? Just let me go. I'll do the rest" she hissed desperately.

"I... Maker forgive me, be quick…" he said as he let her go.

She unsheathed her knives and sprinted across the courtyard towards Hawke and the Knight-Commander. As Meredith lifted her greatsword, Isabela pushed off the ground with her powerful legs and leapt through the air, bringing her twin blades down into the Knight-Commander's neck. The older woman stumbled, then dropped to her knees, right in front of Hawke. Isabela removed her knives, letting Meredith's blood flow freely onto the grey tiles of the courtyard. The templar leader slumped to the ground and Hawke took her into her arms. Hawke held one thin, gloved hand, and said a small prayer, as the light left the Knight-Commander's eyes.

"Bela… you could've gotten away. Why did you do that?" she asked, looking up.

Isabela sheathed her knives. "I had your back, for once."

The templars surrounded them, looking back and forth in confusion. Most of them didn't look old enough to have hair on their balls. Hawke had done a good job during her reign of terror in the mage underworld.

Cullen shrugged out of the grasp of his bewildered looking comrades. "I am Knight-Captain of the Order. Our Commander has fallen, and I am in charge. Does anybody stand against me?"

The templars looked back and forth between themselves, but said nothing.

He stood above Hawke and stretched out his hand. "Stand up, Champion. You and Isabela need to leave immediately."

Hawke looked up at Cullen. "What? Leave? After what we've done?"

He nodded, the tenderness in his eyes visible. "You were never here. The Knight-Commander was assassinated by an unknown man. We couldn't catch him."

"Yes, that's what I saw," Carver said, stepping forward.

"Us too," three young female templars echoed, sheathing their swords.

"I saw the same thing," Kerran chimed in.

"Did anybody see anything different?" Cullen called out, receiving stony silence from the surrounding templars.

Hawke lay Meredith's body on the ground, and slowly got up. "There are still mages inside…"

They stood face to face, and he looked down at her. "I revoke the Right. They will be spared. But you need to get out of here, Champion."

"Cullen…"

He bent down and picked up her staff, handing it back to her, and putting a hand on her shoulder gently. "Never let this leave your hands again. It's yours. Now, go, my lady…"

Hawke swallowed deeply and nodded.

Cullen rested his gaze upon Isabela. "Look after her, Captain."

Isabela nodded sincerely. "Always."

Isabela took Hawke's hand in hers, and quickly walked away.