Ghost Story

[Varric]

"Yeah, leaning your house has aggressive hauntings is worth a few cusses," Varric agrees. "Whole array of manifestations too, from semi-solid environment illusions of the past to the traditional 'bloody, pulsating walls' to an incorporeal phobophage. Pretty sure it was a phobophage anyway, it wanted fear but it might just enjoy causing it. Seemed to want the weakest target possible. We do at least have a probably benign ghost too though. Was able to recite Astea's Chant of Love Unending and Chant of Life is a Blessing without any sign of difficulty or disgust. A dozen other catechisms too."

[Marian Hawke]

"So... we have a good ghost and a bad ghost? How do we lay them both to rest?"

[Varric]

"Bad ghost gets destroyed. Violence to start;  I'll be spending the next week or so focusing on prep for that, the house can wait." He fixes her with a firm stare. "Until I say otherwise, you stick with me. I can move a bed to the library or we can move your cot to my room-- which won't be hard as I, uh, had to detach it from the wall-- but you're not combat trained."

[Marian Hawke]

Emma flinches at that suggestion, looking away. "If you want," she whispers. 

[Varric]

"Emma," Varric says slowly, the non-practical part of his mind moving to the fore. "Talk to me." 

[Marian Hawke]

"I'll do as you say. I just didn't think you wanted..."

[Varric]

Varric tilts his head to the side. "To keep you safe?" he replies, sounding a bit affronted. "I take--" And then the copper drops and his face goes utterly blank. "No. We will use separate beds. We will never fuck, in any way."

[Marian Hawke]

She cheats a glance at his face, then flinches again at the response she sees there. "Understood," she whispers. "I won't mention it again."

[Varric]

Varric takes a slow breath. Then another. "Emma, were you raped?"

[Marian Hawke]

"I--" she whispers, swallowing hard. "I don't know. I don't remember."

[Varric]

And bingo, there's the trauma she's repressing (pr possibly a shite job of wiping the assault from her mind magically), which is causing her memory issues. "Alright. It's not important right now. You're still recovering. It can wait, alright?"

[Marian Hawke]

Emma nods, swallowing again. "Sorry," she whispers. "I know I'm... I'm kind of a mess."

[Varric]

Aren't we all? "It's alright," he repeats. "Rest for now. We can talk more later, alright? Plan and such."

[Marian Hawke]

"Alright." Her eyes slip closed, and she shifts a bit, getting comfortable on her cot. "Alright," she repeats, and then she is gone, unconscious. 

[GamesMaster]

The book turns out to be magical; it's clear when he opens it that the interior has more pages than the exterior promises. The journal begins like all diaries do: Dear diary, I just got this new diary from my daddy, I promise to write every day, followed by a distinct lack of daily writing. The handwriting is blocky, showing the writer to be young. Bethany confirms this in entry two, when she tumbles out a description of her family with everyone's ages: she and Carol, her twin, are seven, and her older sister Marian is ten. 

Oddly enough, every time her twin's name is written in the early pages, it's crossed out. The fifth entry, written when the twins were eight, reveals why...