Chapter Text
Lara Hawke presses her lips tight to keep a whimper from trying to escape. She’d never been so scared in her entire life. Not even fleeing Lothering had been as terrifying as this was. At least when she was running from Lothering she was with her family. Bethany and Carver and their mother had been by her side. Now, she is alone.
Tugging at her binds, Lara stares helplessly at her hands tied above her head. It had been three days since she was grabbed walking back from Gamlen’s house. She’d taken it upon herself to continue her mother’s weekly visits to her uncle after her mother died. Not that it mattered as he, once again, turned her away after blaming her for Leandra’s death.
Three days felt like a lifetime, especially since she’s spent it mostly alone. Lara looks around. They’d brought her down to a dank, smelly dead-end in the sewers. The only light she has is a torch hanging on the wall. Rats scurry back and forth and only well placed kicks keep them away from her.
The Templars who had grabbed her came down to visit her a few times a day to bring her bread and water, which never felt like enough, and to let her do her business in a bucket. Her hands were never unbound and her mouth was never ungagged.
Being a mage had always had its issues, but never more so than right now. They’d been lucky that Lara’s powers appeared for the first time in the privacy of their own home, so Leandra and Malcolm could take steps to prevent her from giving them away. That had changed when Bethany had also proven to be a mage, by sending a bully flying through the air. Sometimes Lara felt like all they did after that was run and hide. Malcolm never wanted Bethany and Lara to be held against their will due to no fault of their own.
Here she is now though. Bethany died trying to fight that ogre to protect their mother. A death that Leandra never truly forgave Lara for, as she thought Lara should have defended the whole family. Things had only gotten worse when Carver, angry over not going into the Deep Roads with her, had joined the Templars. Nothing had hurt worse than finding out her own brother had joined the order of people that wanted to lock her up for something she was born with. His promises of not telling anyone about her seemed empty now, considering she’s sitting in a fucking sewer thanks to the Templars.
Carver had always largely been ignored by Malcolm. Malcolm Hawke didn’t do it maliciously, but only because he spent so much time teaching Bethany and Lara how to perform and hide their magic and didn’t have much time to spend with Carver after that. When they were young, Carver tried to get Lara to swordfight with him, but she never took to it well and he gave up on her. Carver loved his family but he always acted jealous and joined up with the army the moment he could. It tore their mother’s heart out when he left that day. She’d sobbed when he returned alive.
Does Carver know that Lara is missing? Does he care? Even more horrifying, did he know that she was going to be kidnapped and didn’t do anything to stop it?
Then there was Anders. Her sweet Anders, who loved her passionately, but had been disappearing and secretive lately. There were nights when he didn’t come home, and when he did come home, he was quiet. He kept telling her that she’d find out soon why he was being so secretive. As much as she wished to believe in him… there was a part of her that believed he was having an affair with another woman. He didn’t seem the type, but they had been together for years now and his silence was daunting.
Would he even notice that she wasn’t there when he eventually came home? Would he even care?
Heavy clinking sounds come from down the tunnels and Lara fights as hard as she can against the ropes around her hands. It matters as little as it had the last three days. She simply wasn’t strong enough to break the binds, nor the chain that they’re attached to. Gods, why hadn’t she let Carver teach her how to fight? She’d always thought she’d have her magic to help her. It won’t be much use against the Templars.
The clinks grow louder until, she assumes, the same three Templars step around the corner. One of them removes his helmet and Lara cringes. They’d all kept their helmets on every time one of them came to visit her. The fact that one of them was now showing his identity was not good. That meant they expected her to stay down here forever, or to die down here. Likely the latter.
“You’ve been a thorn in Meredith’s side, haven’t you, Champion?” The man’s hair is black and his eyes are blue. “I’m Erik. Remove your helmets.”
Lara is relieved when the two other men take off their helmets and neither of them are Carver. At least he had no part in this. Erik nods at the blonde man and says, “That’s Kai.” And at the brunette. “And Julian. Do you know why we’ve been tasked with capturing you, bringing you down here, and tying you up?”
There were a few different reasons running through Lara’s head, but none that she could utter considering there was a gag in her fucking mouth. She chooses to glare at him. Erik laughs. “I suppose you can’t speak very well when there’s a gag in your mouth. I have no intention of taking it out of your mouth either, despite how pretty your screams will be.”
Trying not to show how afraid she actually is, Lara tugs again at the ropes above her. “That won’t work,” Erik says. “We took your staff, bound your hands, and gagged you to keep you from using your spells on us. You’re an Apostate and deserve to be punished.”
Lara shakes her head. Erik’s brow raises. “You don’t agree with me? You’re an abomination that uses magic to hurt people. Instead of doing the honorable thing and joining the Circle, you hid like the coward you are. You pretended to be a normal human and took advantage of the kindness of Kirkwall’s people. It doesn’t matter if you’re the Champion of Kirkwall. You are a mage first and foremost.”
“We have our orders.” Erik continues. “Meredith doesn’t want you around anymore. You’re growing in strength and could one day overcome her. We’ll be damned if we let a filthy Apostate destroy her plans.”
Meredith had always been… a problem, for Lara. Lara is an Apostate and that automatically made her wary of the Templars. She didn’t know the other woman’s hatred ran this deep though, and considering Erik was being so forward about who was behind all this, it was likely she might not make it out alive. Hopefully her friends were looking for her.
Hopefully Anders was looking for her. He once said he’d drown the Templar’s in blood before he’d allow her to be hurt. She hopes she lives long enough to see him do it to them.
“Orsino is another problem.” Erik muses. “He knows what you are and yet he has stayed silent on it. Meredith wanted you brought to the Gallows the moment she knew what you were, but Orsino wanted her to see reason. You’re loved in Kirkwall and the people might rise up against us if we publicly took you away. Meredith believes Orsino wants you for himself, to allow the mages to rise against us. So we need you to disappear, quietly.”
“Or,” Julian grins. “Not so quietly.”
“Yeah, quiet isn’t fun.” Kai licks his lips and Lara’s lips curl around the gag. “Meredith said we can do whatever we want to her as long as she dies. No one would ever suspect us. Probably think some sewer rat got to her if they find her body.”
Lara kicks her legs again and tugs at her bonds, and Julian laughs. “She’s feisty. We could cut her, torture her, or anything else we want.”
“I say,” Erik rubs his chin and smiles wickedly. “I say we fuck her. She has three holes and there’s three of us. We could fuck her and then slit her throat. Choke her to death on our cocks. Fuck her until she’s dead. I wonder what a mage’s cunt tastes like.”
No! Lara continues kicking and tugging as hard as she can but the three of them only laugh.
Erik lowers his hand to his belt. “I’m going first.”
Tears fill Lara’s eyes. Anders, please come. Drown them in their blood like you swore you would.