Stone's Throw

[Bethany]

"I didn't approve--" Beth is cut off by the firm hand on her shoulder. Scowling, the expression mingled with surprise, she looks at her papa with silent demand.

[Varric]

"Dreas, Helene, sorry to bail on family breakfast, but I need to have a father-daughter chat," he says in a tone that brooks no argument. He uses it most often at the office and Lantern, and learned it from starting his first business, but he honed it raising Carver and Beth. And Merrill. And Marian. And even Cedric, at least a little.

[Helene Dakesh]

"Of course, dear."

[Andreas Amell]

Andreas just nods a little, eyes wide, as he watches his Grandpa lightly but insistantly pull his Mother out of the room. They're not even past the doorway before Beth starts... Is it speciest to think of her as hissing at him? I can almost see the flat ears and puffed up tail... "Is... should I not have asked..?" he mutters to himself.

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene sighs. "Your mother is... there are cracks in her foundation that run very deep. Very deep indeed. None  of that is your fault or even a reflection upon your actions."

[Andreas Amell]

"Is... Is this about Meribeth?" Andreas asks in a very small voice, eyes darting to the doorway as he gives voice to a taboo. 

[Helene Dakesh]

"That incident was the straw that broke your parents apart," sighs Helene. "But not just Meribeth. Also what happened to Marian when they were moving to Nyra."

[Andreas Amell]

Brow furrowing, Andreas finally looks up at his Grandne, though only briefly. "...what happened to Aunt Marian?" he repeats tentatively. I've only gotten snippets of this story, most of it overheard. Shouldn't I have been told, if it affected my own Mother so deeply?

[Helene Dakesh]

"....she died," says Helene, quietly. "A heroic sacrifice. Only, she didn't actually perish -- she was taken hostage by a demon and turned into what you see now. Your mother, uncle, and grandfather thought she was dead for years, and all that time she was suffering."

[Andreas Amell]

Bright Gods. Bright Gods. I remember-- I overheard Uncle Carver talking to Aunt Seli about Aunt Marian being 'lost to us for years' but I always... I always thought they just got split up after Golden Shores was wiped out. I never thought... "That's why," he suddenly realizes, eyes widening. "The tracking rituals, the Blessings and everything else. After what happened to Aunt Marian and-- and then my s-sister..." The vial of blood to Bright's Kenta and Cassandra every season, the Oaths and Vows to Ciren she makes on my birthday...

[Helene Dakesh]

"When I say that it is your mother's largest fear that you would perish, understand that I mean even after so long she still takes a draught against nightmares near every night."

[Andreas Amell]

Andreas shudders, stomach churning a nauseous wad of anxiety, guilt, horror, sadness, and, interwoven very tightly with the bulk of the guilt, resentment. "Oh," he whispers, eyes dropping again.

[Helene Dakesh]

Helene, in a rare gesture of physical affection, reaches out to take Dreas's hand. "It isn't your fault. You didn't murder your sister, nor did you kidnap your aunt. These things happen."

[Andreas Amell]

"I guess you're right. No. I know you're right." The corner of his lips twist into a hint of a smile as he applies one of Helene's own lessons to say, "I do know. I do not understand. I do not comprehend."

[Helene Dakesh]

"It takes time. You should feel lucky that none of your cousins have met with such misfortune yet."