Chapter 10

Shaye remembered the last time she and Cullen lay together. It had been over two months since she woke feeling safe and loved and warm in his arms. Two months since she held him inside her, smelled him, tasted him, and kissed him. She felt so empty.

"You don't have to say it Shaye. I guess we always knew that someday our two worlds would collide. The Mages need you. Just know that it is not Meredith I will be supporting. It is the innocent men and women I am trying to support – Templar and Mage alike. It always has been – whatever my failure." Cullen said angrily.

"We have all failed Cullen. All of us!" Bitter tears of frustration began to fall. "No matter what Cullen, I will never stop loving you."

"Nor I you." He said, gently brushing her hair aside and wiping her tears.

Shaye had been encouraged by King Alistair's words that Cullen would return. He was being followed, Alistair had told her, and she had to believe he was doing this for her safety. But her own insecurity left a niggling doubt.

She was sitting by the fire, in the front living room when Anders entered. Her eyes were red and swollen from her tears. Damn, I don't want him to see me this way, she thought to herself.

"Hawke?" His voice was full of love and compassion. "Are you all right?"

"Yes, Anders I am fine. Really."

"Really?' He said as he knelt before her, taking her hands into his. His warm hands caressing hers gently, bringing them to his lips as though he could kiss her pain way.

She smiled. "Really and truly Anders. Sometimes I do feel a little sorry for myself, that's all."

"He was cruel to do this to you. You know that, don't you? He cannot truly love you Hawke. You are of Mage blood. He could never have you as a proper woman. Marriage? Children? He could not stand to father a Mage. He is not worthy of you."

He leaned closer, blocking her in, and taking her face in his hands, searching her eyes. He kissed her tears, caressed her cheeks and neck and kissed her deeply. He moved his hands to her breasts, deftly unbuttoning her shirt and gazing at her beautiful breasts, hungrily sucking.

"I have waited for this moment for so long Hawke," He breathed.

"Please don't Anders." Shaye whispered, taking his hands from her breasts.

"You could free me Hawke. I need you."

"No, Anders. You can only free yourself, I love you Anders. Surely you know that."

"But? He is gone now Hawke. He is not coming back. It is his blade that could fell you. Tell me why. Is it Justice?"

"Anders I am in love with someone else. Someone who at last, doesn't need me, but just wants me, just loves me. Do you understand? I will never stop being in love with Cullen. Ever. No matter what. And yes, Justice has blinded you Anders and changed who you were – a man that I could have fallen in love with. Perhaps I would have. I am sorry."

"I understand. I truly do. I didn't know, Hawke. I apologize. Maybe I was just hoping for a pity roll in the hay?" Ander said smiling. He wasn't surprized really. He had hoped…

"I don't think so." Shaye replied smiling weakly back.

"Well, Isabella it is then." He said, laughing. And then his tone turned deadly serious. "And Hawke, remember, whatever happens, know it was my choice."

"I don't understand." Shaye said.

"No matter. I must go. I am sorry Hawke. I should not have presumed."

Two more months passed and then the worst happened. Anders murdered the Grand Cleric. Shaye was sickened beyond all imagining. How could he? She thought. She had been left alone with him, to decide his fate. He sat there rocking, his back to her. And he kept saying "It was my choice."

Shaye broke. Cullen was gone; perhaps he was dead by now. Shaye could no longer support the Mages. Not after what Anders had done. Fenris and Sebastian wanted him dead; Merrill wanted him freed to vindicate himself. And Shaye just wanted to run away.

"Kill me Hawke. Free me from Justice. I am begging you." Anders said.

She held the blade in her hand, it would be so easy to kill him. But her hand shook, and bitter tears blurred her vision. And then, she heard it. Blessed Andraste, his voice.

"Shaye. Thank the Maker." She spun around and ran to his outstretched arms. She buried her face in his strong chest and sobbed. "I will stand with you Cullen."

"I know my love, I know." Cullen said. "You must know this though. Most of the Mages are gone thanks to Alistair and Samson, of all people. Only the weak remain with Orsino. And I will take Meredith down when I can."

"I had prayed you would find a way." She said touching the medallion he had given her so long ago.

He smiled, and showed her the charm she had given him. He kissed her, and held her as long as he could.

They walked together towards Anders.

"I see. You have decided to have me arrested, and you have brought your Templar to do it." Anders said bitterly.

"No Anders." said Cullen. "If it was my choice I would make you tranquil, so you could continue the good works that have marked most of your life, but this is not the time to debate – perhaps we should have done that long ago. It is simple Anders, Shaye loves you and she wants to set you free from Justice, and I love Shaye and so, I will do what she needs of me."

"Then perhaps I was wrong about you Templar." Anders said turning his back to them. "It will be easier for you this way Hawke."

"Anders. Find your peace. It was Justice not you. It was not your choice. I understand that." Shaye said quietly.

The blade was once again in her hand. How strong Aveline had been with Wesley. Somehow this was different. She looked to Cullen and he nodded. He placed his hand over hers and she thrust. It was done.

Shaye was still shaken. "Thank you Cullen. I love you. You have no idea how much that meant to me. I can never repay you for what you have given me."

Anders was dead. Orsino was dead. Dozens of Mages lay dead. Shaye's heart was broken, as she left The Gallows' foyer and walked into the courtyard. Meredith was there looking at her with both cruelty and a grim satisfaction, that it chilled her to the bone. Cullen stood beside Meredith, and it took all her strength not to run to him. Suddenly she was surrounded by Templars

"Kill her" Meredith screamed to Cullen. "Kill the treacherous bitch!"

"No Meredith." Cullen said with a steely confidence. "If you want her dead, you will have to go through me. Meredith, you have gone too far."

And then the Meredith he knew dissolved. Her ugliness, greed, and her madness, came down upon them all. The battle against her lasted for hours. Time and time again she brought forth monsters. Cullen and Shaye fought side by side. Varric, Isabella, Fenris and Sebastian and even Merrill fought tirelessly, until finally, Meredith fell and Shaye fired the last deadly arrow into her.

Shaye stood over her lifeless body, breathing heavily, sweaty and bloody. And as she turned to find Cullen, she saw him. He was kneeling down in her honor, and the rest of the Templars followed suit.

"No!" She screamed running to Cullen tears streaming down her face. "No, please don't Cullen."

She reached him and got down on her knees with him.

"Please do not bow to me. It is I who should bow to you, Please Cullen." She said. She kissed him and held him in her arms, ignoring the murmurs of shocked surprize from the Templars around her,

"We will fight about this later, Viscount." Cullen said grinning, wiping the tears from her eyes. "But before I rise, once I am on my knee anyway, I have a question for you – Shaye will you marry me?"

She stared at him in disbelief, and then broke into a big smile. She pulled his hand to her belly. "I think that would be a good idea, Knight Commander."

Epilogue

The rumour was that Cullen had fathered twin Mages. The truth? Shaye and Cullen brought a beautiful baby girl into the world, and, to Cullen's slight disappointment and Shaye's relief, baby Mallory showed no signs of having any gift, other than the gift of delighting her parents with her gurgles and smiles. But Shaye was pregnant again, and rather large, so perhaps there was going to be some truth to the rumour after all.

Shaye accepted the position of Viscount and she and Cullen, married and moved into the Keep. The estate was kept for Bethany, who had apparently taken up with another Warden, the very same Nathaniel Howe whom Shaye had meet a few years back. Cullen sold the loft and bought some land outside of Kirkwall, high atop of the cliffs near the Wounded Coast, looking to the ocean and the mountains beyond. He was bound and determined to build his family a home of their own.

Rebuilding the Circle and the Order, would take some time, and neither Cullen nor Shaye knew quite what that re-building would look like. There was rebellion in the air and threats of war. Merrill disappeared, and Sebastian returned home to retake his lands. Fenris, Varric, Aveline and Isabella continued to make Kirkwall their home, and remained staunch supporters of Shaye. They all helped the Cullen with the horrific task of cleaning out The Gallows and making the prison into a home.

Finally it was done. Mages and Templars, priests and mothers, sisters, citizens and nobles gathered for the dedication of the Kirkwall Circle. It had been a year since the destruction. Everyone had been changed by the events that had happened in Kirkwall. The price of avarice, neutrality, oppression, and ignorance that had characterized Kirkwall had been high and had led to its decent into hell. No one wanted to go there again.

Shaye stood at a podium before the crowd. "I came to Kirkwall as a penniless rogue on the run from the Blight. And in Kirkwall I lost everything that I knew and loved. You have made me your champion, your Viscount now. Why? It is because my arrow was the last to touch the Arishok, Orsino, Meredith? But what of the arrows and blades that dug into their flesh before me? It was together that we defeated what sought to destroy us. Regardless I am grateful. More than I can say. Whatever I lost, I have found again in Kirkwall ten-fold. A hundred fold."

The crowd responded with cheers and applause.

"I don't know what lies ahead. But I cannot help but believe that whatever it is, we can face it, but only together. There is great strength in standing together despite our differences. And that is the lesson I learned from the man we are here tonight to honor. A man, who, despite great personal travail, chose reason over blind passion, knowledge over ignorance, truth over falsehood and love over hatred. My honored guests, I give you Knight –Commander Cullen, a man who quietly saved the lives of hundreds of Mages and Templars. A man of extraordinary strength and courage and grace."

With that, the crowd rose to its feet, clapping wildly. Cullen came to the podium. He had not wanted this recognition, but the Order, and more importantly, Shaye insisted. He kissed Shaye, much to the delight of the crowd and whispered in her ear. "We will fight about this later."