Hazelnuts and plaid

[Marian Hawke]

"I killed my babies. I'm not okay, Helene. I'm never going to be okay again. I--" She winces, then, recalling some things Helene has said about pregnancy and nir desire for children that cannot be satisfied with nir own body. "Sorry. I didn't mean to...."

[Varric]

"Ah!" Helene pushes past the brush with nir boy issues with remarkable grace. "This one is pleased to inform you that the twins are not dead. In danger, yes, admittedly, but," whoops, editing, "the Doctor and others are currently enacting the Fetal Transference Ritual-- modified once more-- to move them to Captain Vallen."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian looks up then, hope in her eyes for the first time. "They're not dead?" she whispers, swallowing hard. "They... you have to keep her and them away from me. Don't let them in my house, don't let them see me, keep them away. I can't be trusted."

[Varric]

"How and where did you store the contaminated juice?" 

[Marian Hawke]

"I don't remember."

[Varric]

Helene blinks slowly. "This one... does not understand. You do not recall where you stored your poisoned juice? That would seem to be very significant?"

[Marian Hawke]

"I know where I put it at first: basement, back left corner, behind some of the wine I'm letting age where nobody ever goes. But I pulled it out a few times after that and, um, not all the times I was sober enough to put it back where it went, and... I lost track of it."

[Varric]

Helene makes a sound of disapproval. "We will speak of your motivations and the impact of your plan later. For now, more questions. What was the poison?"

[Marian Hawke]

"Don't know. Stole it off a bandit."

[Varric]

Bullshit. "That seems improbable," ne says firmly. "Why would you assume it would be effective if you did not know what it was?"

[Marian Hawke]

"It was a plan made from desperation. While drunk. I didn't know, I guess."

[Varric]

"Perhaps you should simply explain from the start, with what you do remember."

[Marian Hawke]

"It was in my pocket still after I got back from taking care of the Green Hill Boys -- you remember them, right Bela?"

"Yeah," she confirms. "They liked poisons."

"Yeah. Well this had instructions with it, it wasn't a weapon poison but a drinkable one. Said how much to use. I mixed twice that into a bottle of juice, but then Merrill got home and I thought about how I didn't want her to find me so I hid it. And like I said, a few other times I half remember getting it out. I guess I didn't put it back."

[Varric]

"What else did the instructions say?" Helene pressees. "Describe the bandit."

[Marian Hawke]

"There were six bandits, three half-orcs, two half-elves, and a kender. They were stopping people on their way to Raplin's Oak and stabbing them with poisoned weapons then running away, leaving them to die on the way to get help. Nasty work. The poison instructions said half the packet in a glass of wine should take care of a human-sized person so I put in the whole packet in a bottle of juice. It was hand-written, in what looked like feminine handwriting, so it must have been instructions from their apothecary. It didn't say what kind of poison it was, but it promised a quick yet painful death."