Midwinter Prompt #4: Gentle Execution (Dragon Age)
Title: Gentle Execution
Author: fifmeister
Prompt: #4, deep
Fandom: Dragon Age
Characters: Anders, Marian Hawke
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 452
Summary: All actions have consequences.
"Stand up."
Anders really doesn't want to obey the command. As smoke rises from the Chantry's wreckage and far-off screams pierce through the roaring in his ears, the weight of what he's done settles on him like an anchor. He feels tired-exhausted, even-and though the crate he's sitting on is far from comfortable, it seems as good a place to die as any.
But a twinge of regret flashes through him at the barely controlled rage and betrayal in his lover's voice. Not regret for what he's done-never that-but regret for the necessity of his deception.
You would have stopped me, love, he wants to tell her. And this is something that couldn't be stopped.
But he knows the words would be pointless, now, like rubbing salve over a mortal wound. He stands, and keeps his mouth closed.
"Turn around."
When he pivots to face her, Marian's face is white and set, her eyes alight with a strange, almost otherworldly gleam that he normally sees only in fever patients. He can hear her breath hissing in and out, almost keening in her fury.
It would be pointless to ask her intentions. He doesn't need to look down to see the dagger clenched in her hand.
It's not that bad, really, he thinks. Better this than dying a Warden's death in the Deep Roads, butchered by darkspawn.
He faces her and waits, an odd calm settling over him.
I got the pretty girl and the decent meal. And someday, because of what I've done, people like me will have the right to shoot lightning at fools.
The thought bolsters him when Marian steps toward him, reaching up to touch his cheek, like she has a thousand times before. Her other hand swings forward, faster than a blink, and plunges the knife deep into his belly.
He can't stop his eyes from going wide as she twists hard and wrenches, bracing herself on his shoulder. He hears himself gasp when she withdraws the dagger, the pain shooting through him like a fire spell, her face replaced with the sky's eerie red glow as he falls.
And then several beats of silence, followed by an uneasy shuffle as the others begin to step forward.
"Hawke..." He can just make out Sebastian's voice, pitched low and urgent. "We should go. The city-"
"No." Marian's tone is emotionless. "The city can wait. I'm going to watch him die."
Silence falls again, and Anders presses his hands to the gaping wound in his abdomen.
The cut is deep, he thinks, feeling almost drowsy, the night sky starting to blur at the edges of his vision. The city won't have to wait for long.
Author: fifmeister
Prompt: #4, deep
Fandom: Dragon Age
Characters: Anders, Marian Hawke
Rating/Warnings: PG-13 for violence
Word Count: 452
Summary: All actions have consequences.
"Stand up."
Anders really doesn't want to obey the command. As smoke rises from the Chantry's wreckage and far-off screams pierce through the roaring in his ears, the weight of what he's done settles on him like an anchor. He feels tired-exhausted, even-and though the crate he's sitting on is far from comfortable, it seems as good a place to die as any.
But a twinge of regret flashes through him at the barely controlled rage and betrayal in his lover's voice. Not regret for what he's done-never that-but regret for the necessity of his deception.
You would have stopped me, love, he wants to tell her. And this is something that couldn't be stopped.
But he knows the words would be pointless, now, like rubbing salve over a mortal wound. He stands, and keeps his mouth closed.
"Turn around."
When he pivots to face her, Marian's face is white and set, her eyes alight with a strange, almost otherworldly gleam that he normally sees only in fever patients. He can hear her breath hissing in and out, almost keening in her fury.
It would be pointless to ask her intentions. He doesn't need to look down to see the dagger clenched in her hand.
It's not that bad, really, he thinks. Better this than dying a Warden's death in the Deep Roads, butchered by darkspawn.
He faces her and waits, an odd calm settling over him.
I got the pretty girl and the decent meal. And someday, because of what I've done, people like me will have the right to shoot lightning at fools.
The thought bolsters him when Marian steps toward him, reaching up to touch his cheek, like she has a thousand times before. Her other hand swings forward, faster than a blink, and plunges the knife deep into his belly.
He can't stop his eyes from going wide as she twists hard and wrenches, bracing herself on his shoulder. He hears himself gasp when she withdraws the dagger, the pain shooting through him like a fire spell, her face replaced with the sky's eerie red glow as he falls.
And then several beats of silence, followed by an uneasy shuffle as the others begin to step forward.
"Hawke..." He can just make out Sebastian's voice, pitched low and urgent. "We should go. The city-"
"No." Marian's tone is emotionless. "The city can wait. I'm going to watch him die."
Silence falls again, and Anders presses his hands to the gaping wound in his abdomen.
The cut is deep, he thinks, feeling almost drowsy, the night sky starting to blur at the edges of his vision. The city won't have to wait for long.