The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Bethany]

"Umm. Yeah." Beth blushes. "You, uh, you never met him, so it's not- you didn't just forget or anything. He... Umm. How to explain..." She trails off, pondering, then shrugs. "I met Zevran when we were twelve. I couldn't sleep- it was during that heat wave, during the summer?" Carver would know how much being hot bothers Beth, so she doesn't bother to explain more. "So I was wandering the house and I snuck into the fourth floor and..." 

She bites her lip. "Well, I heard something whining and... okay, I was twelve, remember. So I thought maybe a puppy had gotten lost in the house... somehow... and went looking. Instead of puppy, I found Zevran. He... he had been whipped. Really badly. And burned, before the whipping too. I..." She shudders. "I kind of freaked a little, but then... I just... he was so... I couldn't not help him. So I got a basin of water and some sheets, the medkit..." She shrugs. "Once I gave him a potion, he was lucid enough to walk me through tending to the rest."

[Carver Amell]

Carver gapes at her. "Why didn't you-- you did that all by yourself?!"

[Bethany]

Beth blushes brightly. "I- well, yes. I... the fourth floor was out of bounds and it was past midnight so... I didn't want to get into trouble," she mumbles, well aware of how stupid that sounds with the extra wisdom and maturity of three years. "And..."

[Haliel Lightsong]

"And...?" Haliel prompts dutifully.

[Bethany]

"Well, it was like something out of a story, wasn't it? Beautiful young maiden- shut up Car- finds a wounded stranger and nurses him back to health and then..." Her blush turns to a flush, one clearly feminine. "Well. Even wounded and bloody, he was super cute."

[Carver Amell]

Carver gapes. "That-- you're amazing, Beth. You're like an adventurer!"

[Bethany]

Beth scoffs. "Please. I was never in any danger and it was in my own house. I could be adventuring support, that sounds great, but..." She wrinkles her nose. "Actually going out and... exploring caves or fighting bandits or weird tentacle beasts? Umm, no thanks."

[Carver Amell]

He shakes his head. "No, but that-- most people would have freaked out and got the Guards. But you helped. You did what you had to do, even if it was scary or, or seemed impossible. That's what adventurers do."

[Haliel Lightsong]

As Beth flounders at his praise, Haliel smiles. "He's right. You might not be bold or brave, but you have a loving, caring heart. That can make even more difference that courage in such matters."

[Bethany]

"I..." Beth blushes, then gives up and buries her face in Carver's shoulder again. 

[Carver Amell]

Carver cradles her, rubbing her back gently. "La'a, m'win," he murmurs, in his new, lower voice. Love you. Forever. My twin.

[Marian Hawke]

At breakfast the next morning, after Carver and Beth stay up late sharing stories and reconnecting, Varric makes an announcement: he has the test results ready, Helene having finished grading everyone's exams.

After prefacing them with a reminder about how complicated and elite the test is, he gives the good news: he himself passed the exam, and thus would be a contender to attend the elite course, assuming they liked his personal essay. That's about it for good news, unfortunately; Beth, Shiori, and Lightsong failed --Lightsong due to not finishing -- though each did reasonably well in at least one area. He gives them their detailed results, and the group disperses, leaving Marian behind to ask Helene and Varric about her results in private.

"So I failed?" she asks, quietly, as Lightsong and Carver slip out for Carver's sword lessons.

[Varric]

"Nope," Varric says, intentionally hiding a grin poorly.

[Marian Hawke]

"But I-- I didn't finish. Like Lightsong. So I can't have--"

[Varric]

Varric's grin broadens. "You're right: you didn't finish. Nearly a third of the advanced arcana mechanics finished, the rest blank and three subsections of specialized magic not even touched." He waits a beat. "Still passed."