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Cullen turned to the rest of the Templars, who were still standing in the courtyard, staring at the remains of Knight-Commander Meredith. "Templars. To me. We will cross the harbor and see what can be done to help the victims at the Chantry."
"But … what about the mages, ser?" one of the Templars asked.
"What mages? They were all killed in the fighting. We saw them fall. Templars, march!" When he spoke in that tone, they all obeyed. Cullen gave Hawke one last glance before he marched away with them.
"Did he just—" Isabela shook her head. "Will wonders never cease."
"I always thought Cullen had a heart under all that metal," Varric said.
Hawke was touched by the gesture, as well. Cullen could be severely punished for what he had just done, if any of his superiors found out about it. Well, she wasn't about to tell them. "Let's get a move on. If we're going to figure out what to do with the mages, it needs to be now, before any of them realize that Cullen's stretching the truth."
He wasn't stretching it by much, she thought. How many mages had Bethany taken with her? A dozen? Twenty? Not more than that. Out of all the mages in the Gallows.
"Where in Thedas can they go?" Fenris asked as the five of them made their way through the halls of the Gallows. "No Circle will take them now."
"I don't think they'd go back. Would you, after … this?" Hawke gestured to the carnage.
"No," he admitted. "I more than likely would not."
Reaching a barred door, she called her sister's name softly. "It's safe. You can come out now." She had to call out a few more times before she got a response.
"Mina?"
"Yes."
"Did you—did you defeat the Templars?" There was pardonable skepticism in her sister's voice.
"Not … exactly. But they're gone. They're crossing the harbor to help with the aftermath of the Chantry explosion."
Another voice from within the room said, "It's true. We can see boats full of them out of the window."
The door opened a crack. "You're sure it's safe?"
"I'm not only sure it's safe, I'm sure I have to get you all out of here before any curious Templars want to come investigate and see if you're still alive."
Bethany opened the door all the way. "Good point. Oh, sister, I'm so glad to see you're alive!"
"Same." She reached out and pulled Bethany close. "But if we're going to keep you that way, we have to get you—all of you," she added, looking at the terrified mages over Bethany's shoulder, "out of Kirkwall."
"I agree." Bethany nodded, pulling out of the embrace. She turned to look at the others. "You have fifteen minutes to gather whatever you might need to take with you and meet us in the courtyard. Anyone who isn't there by that time will be left behind, and you can take your chances in Kirkwall."
"But … won't the Templars follow us?" It was the same voice who had confirmed the departure of the Templars, a young mage who looked to be in her early teens.
"We're working that out. We're going to try to get you out of the city and to somewhere safe."
"Where's that?"
"Not sure yet," Hawke admitted.
The girl seemed to accept that as the best answer available, and she went with the others, scurrying down the hallway.
Hawke and her team followed more slowly with Bethany. "There's nothing you need to get?" Hawke asked her sister.
"No. They didn't let me bring much in the first place. And there wasn't much I wanted to take from Gamlen's, so that worked out. Mina … where can we go?"
"Tevinter would certainly take you," Fenris remarked.
"They would," Hawke agreed. "But do you want to be Tevinter mages?"
"No." Bethany's tone was final. "Too many hidden pitfalls there. And they would take advantage of us."
"Ferelden," Merrill said decisively, speaking up for the first time.
Bethany smiled. "Oh. Ferelden. Home."
"The Chantry doesn't have as great a hold there as it does other places, that's true," Hawke said. "And there's a lot of land lying fallow since the Blight. You might be noticed, though."
"We'll teach them how to hide in plain sight. Just like Father did me. But how will we get there?"
Isabela slung an arm around Bethany's shoulder. "You need to ask, Kitten? You just happen to know the most feared pirate captain in Thedas." She looked at Fenris. "How about it? You ready to run away and be pirates with me?"
"With you, on a ship full of mages?" Fenris's tone left no doubt as to his feelings about the latter. Then he sighed, and nodded. "Yes. I am."
Mina was happy for her friends, who had found something so real that Fenris was ready to risk a nightmare to keep them together. She glanced down at Varric, wondering what he would risk for the same purpose, and knowing all too well that the answer was nothing. "Great," she said briskly, to cover her great sadness. "Let's get you all across the harbor and onto Isabela's ship."
"Sister. You're not coming?" Bethany asked, her eyes wide.
"No. After today, the Champion of Kirkwall is going to be a symbol all over Thedas of rebellious mages. You don't need me along."
Bethany pointed out, "We are the rebellious mages."
"That's true. But people like a ring-leader to blame things on. I'll take the hit for what Anders did as well as for what Orsino did. And probably for Meredith, too." She reached for her sister's hand. "It's okay. I can handle it."
"What will you do?"
"It's best you don't know. But … I'll find you, Bethany. Someday. They won't keep the Hawke sisters apart forever."
"Thank you, sister." They embraced, holding on tightly, and then set about collecting the rest of the mages, loading them onto the last remaining ferry, and getting them across the harbor and onto Isabela's ship.