Hazelnuts and plaid

[Helene Dakesh]

"Nonsensically?" wonders Helene. 

[Varric]

"Well, to start, Miss Hawke is a very well known healer, her co-wife is a powerful paladin and her husband is both wealthy and well respected by the Ciren church; getting her healed of anything less than soul wounds would be a matter of hours. Even drunk, zi'Hawke is a Sage. Specifically, one of the academic, rather than instinctual or emotional, types. Such an obvious flaw should have prompted a different plan, even assuming that she would be willing to actually hurt her wife in the first place." Varric snorts, shaking his head. "Which is in and of itself highly suspect, given how well known zi'Hawke's protectiveness of Miss Hawke is. Now if her plan had been to poison herself and thus prompt Miss Hawke to tend to her instead, that is a theory I could entertain."

[Helene Dakesh]

"This one has not known Lady zi'Hawke and Missus zi'Hawke to fight as frequently in the past as they have currently. This one worries about the protective aspect of Lady zi'Hawke's nature being... perverted. But the rest is as you say."

[Varric]

"Less than she has been with the rest of her Clan I'm told," Varric comments, shrugging. "And her obvious and authentic guilt over what she recalls occuring supports the idea of her protectiveness-- and love-- still being very strong, if rusted over by, ah, her various traumas and instabilities causing friction of late."

[Helene Dakesh]

"We shall see when her testimony is received," says Helene, "but this one hopes that the truth is Mr Evide sees it."

[Varric]

"There's also the prior and simultaneous poisoning of two other Clan members to consider," Varric comments almost idly, voice pitched just right to allow the Lord Hand to hear without making it obvious he's intending to be heard. Before either can comment, Vosang strides back into the room. Behind him is Hawke, flanked by a Lantern guard and a small-scale iron golem; standard measures for when a witness is both a known magic-user of significant talent and a possible danger.

[Marian Hawke]

Not that she looks much like the Champion of Coalside right now; instead, she seems to be the small, frightened young woman who turned up on Varric's doorstep after Rosemary, on Wynne's after being stabbed, on Varric's after her time in the hells. Her eyes are red and puffy, and she seems small, lost. 

Helene sits up, then, going through the ritual declarations and casting of the Zone. "The Zone has taken hold. Please state your name for the record."

"Lady Sage Marian Bellflower Tethras zi'Hawke, Champion of Coalside, Queller of the Dead, Devilbane, Dragonslayer, Twice-lived Hero." She sounds exhausted, but she states the full rigamarole, just in case it's necessary. 

Just in case it helps.

[NPCs]

Good girl.

As per procedure, Vosang discards procedure due to questioning someone that is in a position to know the standard procedure. "Did you murder Merrill zi'Hawke of Clan Tethras?" he asks with an utter lack of warning or build-up.

[Marian Hawke]

"Yes," she chokes out, followed by, "No. I, it was an accident. I feel as if I murdered her but it was an accident."

[NPCs]

"Explain," Vosang demands crisply, no reaction to her partial confession showing.

[Marian Hawke]

"I don't remember most of it, but she must have gotten into my poisoned juice. It was my fault the poison was where she could reach it."

[NPCs]

"Why did you have poisoned juice?" is the obvious follow-up question.

[Marian Hawke]

"I had intended to drink it myself."

[NPCs]

"For what purpose?"

[Marian Hawke]

She looks at the guard incredulously. "I had intended to kill myself."