Imprints in Stone [AU]

[Marian Hawke]

She nods, hesitantly. "What does a factor do?"

[Varric]

"You'll be acting as me, basically. I own the gold mine now. Well, majority shares anyway, and I'm quietly investing into a few other local businesses here as well. I plan to establish a trading post, maybe work on building up some of the manufacturing industry. But I have zero interest in living this far away from real civilization. I get that some people like it, " and more don't know any better, poor souls, "but it's not for me, to put it mildly. So I'll need a factor. Someone to oversee my interests. Keep books, check to be sure business I've invested in are doing well and reporting honestly, handle labour disputes, prepare reports regularly, keep trade of local conditions, that sort of thing. You'd handle the day-to-day stuff yourself, write to me about non-urgent important issues and use a communication scroll for real emergencies. That's the gist of it anyway, details would be covered later, if it looks like you're interested and capable of doing it."

[Marian Hawke]

Her mouth opens just a bit. "Me." she says flatly. "Marian Hawke. You want me to do all that?"

[Varric]

"I don't know yet," Varric replies honestly. "I can see it being possible, but that's a few years off."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian takes a deep breath, lets it out. "If it doesn't work out, do I end up owing you more than my life is worth?"

[Varric]

"What? No. I'm no beathachadh aig a 'bhonn slaver," he says with disgust. "Getting you up to standard is part of your work and part religious obligation. By the time we're done with that, we'll know better where we stand going forward. If it's not working, then we part ways there with no debts on either side. If it's going well, then I'll fund your continued education as a loan, one that can be paid as a reduction in wages if you work for me or in coin, at a higher price, if you don't. Again, we can work out the details when we're closer to that point and know what the conditions and circumstances will be."

[Marian Hawke]

Another deep breath. "Okay." She shakes her head, running a hand through her hair. "Okay. I'll do it. This is crazy but I'll do it anyway." If there's a chance my life can get back on track...

[Varric]

Varric smiles faintly. "Glad to hear it," he says, putting a bowl of porridge in front of her. Especially given that your mother already agreed to most of it.

[Marian Hawke]

Marian goes to add cream to the porridge, frowning at it. Why is this so.... burnt? Whatever, food is food. She adds the cream and honey, stirring vigorously. "What are we working on today?"

[Varric]

"I have some tests so I can get a firmer grasp of exactly where you're at," Varric begins as they start eating. "We'll start with basic literacy comprehension, grammar and vocab..."

[Varric]

Months pass with thankfully far less noteworthy events. Marian proves her potential in spades, blazing through the reading and writing subjects. Her history is... tolerable, if a bit overly focused, as is her religious education. Sciences are almost painful, outside of agriculture and some limited biology. Maths are limited but very, very solid in what she knows, which allows her to develop into new fields easily. With a dedicated teacher, she finishes dwarven and starts on elven in just a few months, though Varric insists on speaking nothing but dwarven during the work portion of the day to smooth out her accent and ease of translation.

The twins continue to visit as well. Bethany seemingly content with having a house that's... kind of hers to take care of, as Varric doesn't really seem to care that much about household niceties. He's supportive and appreciative, which is a bit different than home, where Leandra has very strict expectations but doesn't care much about the process. Carver isn't quite as dedicated in coming over, but free lunch is hard to pass up, especially when it's made by his twin. This in turn has helped his grades, as Varric insists on him working on his homework or studying while she cooks, but is also willing to help the boy with same.

It's the day after the first freeze when things change again. The ice had caused his gutters to crack, so he's outside with Marian, staring up at them with a frown. "...guessing it'd be real bad to just.... leave them be like that, huh?" he asks rhetorically.

[Marian Hawke]

Ice. It's always ice. Marian has a love-hate relationship with winter: both a constant reminder of her differences, and easy cover for any mistakes that are made. It also, now that she's studying science in more detail, lets her learn the effects you can cause with frozen water.

"Yeah," she agrees. "In spring you'd be upset if it leaks."

[Varric]

Varric scowls, then blows out a breath. "Yeah, point. Short term cost for long term gain," he replies, giving the young woman a dirty look when she mouths the oft repeated phrase along with him. "Still... maybe it's not so bad I can't fix it myself," he tries to say convincingly. Could be, right? "At least worth looking at before we try and get Old Man Gathies to drag his lazy arse out here." Damn sticks and their almost incidental creation of monopolies (just you wait bitches). One sodding carpenter in the entire damn (hamlet) town.

[Marian Hawke]

"Sure," says Marian, shaking her head. "Where do you keep the ladder?"

[Varric]

"...is that a short joke?" Varric asks with narrowed eyes. And a slight smirk.