#circle verse.

“ … knight-commander meredith . to what do i owe the pleasure ? ”

" fenris , you're shivering . " cold and soaked to the bone , bethany sits as close to their fire as possible without the flame catching . her eyes are fixated upon the elf across from her , as she opens her arm to present one end of the blanket he bestowed upon her earlier in the evening . " i will be perfectly fine sharing the blanket . will you please come here ? "

" i wish i could say it was easy . unfortunately the templars were just as cruel and vindictive as i had always feared they would be . " she reaches towards her brother and squeezes his hand comfortingly . " it's best not to dwell on it , carver . it is in the past . "

" so it is not enough that you've arrested me and taken me away from my family , now you must stalk me and constantly watch me to ensure i am being a good little prisoner ? "

the gallows are just as she remembers her father describing it ; cold , even on the warmest days , as though the sun can't seem to penetrate through the air of misery that lives within . bethany has never been alone before ; always at someone's side , whether it be her father or mother or her siblings , or the friends she'd made in whatever village they had lived in for a time . the gallows are oppressively lonely , and suffocating , and so devoid of hope . tranquil roam the halls without a care in the world , mages who have only known the circle stare at her with distrust , templars watch her like they are waiting for her to slip up . they want her to fail , but she refuses to give them the satisfaction .

knight-captain cullen is merely doing his job , but that does not mean she can find it in her heart to care . she doesn't want to care , not when her mother is grieving another loss and her eldest sibling is left to pick up the pieces of the family's grief . it's just not fair . so she remains turned away from the templar , curled up in her pathetic cot and staring blankly into the cracks in the stone wall .

" i can assure you , knight-captain , i have no nefarious plans in the works . i am simply laying in my prison bed . "