Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Varric]

"Alright. Do, uh, do you want to know more?" Varric asks gingerly.

[Carver Amell]

"There's more?" he asks, voice tight.

[Varric]

"Not... well, not as shocking as that, I think. Sorry. Uh, from what I can tell, he's been with his fiance Raynare for about five years. Full-blood elf, a year younger than him. Works at her parent's shop, clothing merchants. My agent there said she's... well, she's pretty damn snotty and kind of a bitch."

[Bethany]

"Sounds like the cliche elf. Well, the snob cliche, not the woodsy one," Bethany says tiredly. "Then again, not a surprise. Bitch seems to be his type."

[Carver Amell]

"Don't say that," Carver bites off.

[Bethany]

Bethany looks at him in shock. "Are you- how can you still defend Leandra? After all of this?"

[Carver Amell]

He shifts a little. "She didn't used to be so bad. I think-- I think losing Marian-- I think it broke her. She doesn't... remember how she was when we were travelling? So, so she might be awful now, but I think that's not... that's not really her fault. And she wasn't that bad before we were born."

[Bethany]

Bethany blinks. "...how would you know?" she wonders.

[Carver Amell]

"Well she wasn't that bad when we were little, so she can't have been that bad before then, right?"

[Bethany]

"Was she? Or did we just not realize how bad she was?"

[Carver Amell]

"She was. She used to help with our homework, remember? And, and she helped me take apart that frog that one time."

[Bethany]

"Sure, but she also used to browbeat Marian and dump a lot of stuff on her. When we were kids, how often did you go to her for help? And how often did you go to Marian?" Bethany challenges him.

[Carver Amell]

"Well, it's just, it's natural to want your sister over your mom. Moms punish you for screwing up."

[Bethany]

Bethany's expression makes it pretty clear how convinced she is about that logic. "Fine. We're talking about Mal-gone anyway. Anything else about him we should know?" she asks Varric. 

[Varric]

"Well... Not that I can think of," Varric admits.  "Pretty much just the age and engaged thing."