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The Chantry explodes. Stephanie watches it from halfway down the hill Kirkwall is squatted upon, debris flying outwards while someone wails in agony behind her. Sebastian, she thinks, that must be Sebastian. All the while numbness spreads through her body.
“What have you done?” Orsino is the first to shout, rounding on Anders while most of the rest remain glued to the destruction on display.
“There can be no compromise.” Anders says, sounding small in a way that makes Stephanie’s fingers itch. “We can all stop pretending now.”
“Magic has destroyed our Chantry.” Meredith speaks presently, coming to her senses. “Our Grand Cleric, murdered by foul mages.”
“No,” Stephanie’s lips move faster than her brain. Her hands move faster too, grabbing a fistful of Ander’s tunic and bodily shoving him in front of Meredith. “Mage, singular. An apostate. He’s right here. And he admits to it – isn’t that right, Anders?”
“I had to. People will speak of Kirkwall, now. They can’t ignore us anymore.”
Meredith’s eyes skate over Anders onto Orsino.
“I hereby invoke the Rite of Annulment.”
“No!” Stephanie shouts, throwing Anders to the ground. “Meredith, see reason. The Circle mages are innocent.”
Templars are all around and Stephanie feels Bethany’s presence behind Orsino like a knife on her throat. Meredith looks at her coldly.
“You are this city’s champion. Will you do your duty now? You must cull the mages, for the sake of us all.”
“No,” Stephanie says again, shaking her head. “Revoke the rite.”
“You would ally with those heathens? The demons? The abominations?”
“Meredith, revoke the rite.” Stephanie takes a step backwards, like she’s surrounded by wolves. The templars seem to press in and she knows they thirst for the blood of her sister.
“So be it.” Meredith lowers her chin. With barely a gesture Meredith and half her battalion are withdrawing, but some remain, and those who do raise their weapons.
“Walk away.” Stephanie implores the faceless, helmeted soldiers. “Don’t die for this.”
“Mages are too dangerous to live.” One of them replies, shouting to rally the others to his side. “Attack!”
* * *
The templars die, and Orsino speaks of children at the Gallows, so the Circle mages retreat. Stephanie is left with her companions, a pile of corpses, and Anders.
Anders.
Stephanie marches to him before anyone can speak, grabbing and slamming him into a nearby wall. He winces, but doesn’t resist. He didn’t move a muscle during the fight, just sat there like a pillock while he waited to die. He doesn’t even make eye contact with her properly, despite his lowered chin he looks down through her like she might as well be glass. No one says a word behind her.
“You used me.” She growls. “You tricked me – you made me a part of this.”
“You helped?” Sebastian barks, stepping up to her side. Stephanie takes her eyes off Anders long enough to slap the would-be prince across the face. The force of the strike sends him stumbling.
“Stay out of this.” She hisses. It takes him a moment to shake off the shock, but once he has Sebastian spits on the ground at her feet – no small amount of blood in the glob – and walks away. No one else moves. Once Sebastian is gone Stephanie returns to Anders, still pinned against the wall by her other hand.
“What happened to caring about the mages, Anders? You had to know this would kill them.”
“I knew.” Anders says. Stephanie almost lets him go from the shock of hearing that.
“Anders. Anders.” She looks at his eyes, desperately trying to find some sort of remorse. “You’ve killed my sister.”
“A worthy price.”
Stephanie blinks for a moment, her hands once again moving without her bidding them. They snake up and around his throat, and there they squeeze.
“I trusted you.” She whispers to him, even as he begins to choke. “You used that against me, you guilted me into helping you do this. I would have supported you through almost anything, Anders.”
His eyes say you would have tried to stop me.
“Steph,” Merrill speaks up. “You’re killing him.”
Stephanie’s fingers dig in tighter, even as she drops her chin, staring at Anders’ feet while she crushes the life out of him. Drops of something wet hit the ground as she grits her teeth and keeps up the pressure. He doesn’t try to break free for a while, and his healer’s hands do nothing to her when he finally begins to claw at her grip.
It’s a slow thing.
After minutes, once he’s stopped moving altogether and then some, Stephanie drops him. Anders slumps to the ground with a heavy, limp thud. She breathes shakily for a moment, hands trembling at her sides as she faces her companions once more.
“I’m going to go save my sister now.” She says, looking at no one in particular. Immediately Varric and Isabela are crossing the floor to stand at her side. A moment later Merrill joins her as well.
“You are making the wrong choice.” Fenris says. “But you have my sword.” He walks over too, until it’s just Aveline left on her own.
“You never do anything small, do you Hawke?”
Stephanie lifts her eyes to meet Aveline’s. She finds a little pity there, a little horror. Stephanie shrugs.
“What will you do?”
“I should find my men. Start combing through the city to check for people trapped by debris.”
“Okay.”
“My men can do that without me.” Aveline steps towards her, one hand outstretched. “I’m with you, Hawke.”
Stephanie clasps the other warrior’s hand firmly, shaking it like their bond is not already ironclad.
“Thank you, Aveline.”
“Let’s get a move on.”