Dragon Age: The Ferelden Chronicles

Chapter Seven

Varia lagged several feet behind Jowan and Lily as the three of them left the lower chambers, wringing her hands and keeping her head lowered so that they wouldn't notice the tears in her eyes. This was it. Soon, they would reach the door they had entered through, and then the Jowan she knew and loved would be taken from her. He would no longer be someone she could talk to about magic - or anything else, for that matter - but he would instead serve as an everyday reminder of her betrayal of his friendship by being a tranquil mage working with Owain and the other tranquils around the tower.

She bit back a sob, hating herself for what she had been forced to become. Anders often complained that Irving was too willing to bend to the will of the Chantry, but she had always defended her mentor, thinking he did what he felt was best to guide the mages in his care along the right path. Now, she was no better than him. She would be lucky if any of the other mages in the tower ever spoke to her again after they learned what she had done. Even if it hadn't been her idea, she had still gone along with it - the First Enchanter's star pupil, now his perfect little puppet.

There was still a small bit of hope inside her, though. Perhaps Irving hadn't been able to convince Greagoir to wait with him for the three of them to emerge from the lower chambers. Maybe the Knight-Commander was busy or they'd gotten hung up somewhere along the way. If that was the case, she would distract the two templars who usually guarded the front entryway and help Jowan and Lily get out of the tower. Then she would take the full brunt of whatever punishment Greagoir saw fit to give her. She would not betray Jowan a second time by telling the templars of where the two of them had discussed running away to.

"So what you said was true, Irving," she heard Greagoir say even before Lily had completely opened the door to the main hall of the tower. She looked up and found the Knight-Commander, along with the First Enchanter and two of the senior templars. All hope she had of Jowan making a successful escape with Lily was gone.

"An initiate, conspiring with a blood mage," he continued, advancing on the three of them. His steely eyes carefully examined Lily for a moment, and then he shook his head sadly. "I'm disappointed in you, Lily.

"She seems shocked, but fully in control of her own mind," he added, returning to stand by Irving. "Not a thrall of the blood mage, then. You were right, Irving. The initiate has betrayed us. The Chantry will not let this go unpunished."

He turned his gaze upon Varia, then, and he smirked a bit at her. It was quite apparent he knew who had helped deliver the two people standing next to her to their dire fates. He almost seemed to be gloating at the fact that she was becoming just as compliant as Irving in 'doing her duty' within the Circle.

"And here's your lackey, who so efficiently delivered these miscreants into our hands. Your plan worked, after all."

She saw Jowan turn to look at her out of the corner of her eye, but she couldn't bear to meet his gaze. She knew what she would see on his face if she did look at him: betrayal, anger, disgust. She clasped her hands together in front of her to keep them from shaking, and settled her gaze upon the stone floor as she once more felt the heaviness of her shame.

"Varia?"

She turned to him before she could stop herself, and when she saw the sadness and confusion in his dark blue eyes she felt herself reach her breaking point. She shook her head, her vision blurring with tears, and told him the only thing she could think of to say.