The Amell Legacy: Transgressions

[Bethany]

Beth jerks a shoulder. "Neither am I right now," she mutters. "If he didn't kill me- or sell me- than mother dearest would ship me off to a convent for the rest of my life, if she didn't send me to the Coalbin. But... consider it your severance package or something like that. Back pay, the money Leandra and Uncle Gamlen should have been sending you for the last decade."

[Marian Hawke]

Still, she shakes her head. "Feels like lying -- about something that matters, about who I am. I... It'd be like admitting she was right, that it'd be better to be you. That I'm always going to ba threat to her precious pureborn daughters. No, I can't."

[Bethany]

Bethany frowns, then sighs. "I can get that," she admits. "Well, take it and give it to Varric to sell? I mean, it'd have to be broken down, but each of those emeralds must be worth a couple hundred gold each and there's seventeen of them."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian chokes. "I-- yeah. Okay. I'll do that," she manages, a moment later -- as she's tucking the ring into her pocket. Blushing, she bundles up the rest of it, lifting it into her lap. 

[Bethany]

Beth fights back a smile. "Good." She pauses a moment, then says carefully, "you, uh, you do realize the necklace is worth more than the pouch and both rings combined... twice, right? It's like twenty grand or something."

[Marian Hawke]

She blinks, swallowing as she shakes her head. "Th-thanks," she manages to squeak. "I-- don't you-- won't you need this? For your bar?"

[Bethany]

Bethany shakes her head. "No. I mean, sure, it would help and all but again... that's your share." A slightly bigger one than Carver or I but... "You really deserve it. You were right about me having grown up with a lot of... well, stuff. You deserve some of it. So... ta-da?"

[Marian Hawke]

Her hands shaking, she bows her head, a tear dripping into her lap. "Beth...." she whispers. "I... I can't... Thank you. I mean it. You have no idea how much..."

[Bethany]

Beth smiles again, the teasing aspect of it fading way at the pure relief and shock Marian is showing. "What... what was it like? You've hinted at stuff and mentioned a few things but... tell me about your life?"

[Marian Hawke]

She swallows, then swallows again. "I've been... I haven't been letting on, much, but I've been really worried about the future. I... My apprenticeship is technically over. I don't have a job lined up. I didn't actually finish my education, that's a sticking point in a lot of places. If I could get scribe work, I'd make maybe half a gold a day, but without a letter of recommendation that's not likely. I'm looking at earning maybe a silver a day if I can find a post as a tutor or a teacher or a shopgirl. Renting a house would be something like ten gold a month, so if I'm earning only forty silver I can only rent rooms someplace. And again, that assumes I can find work. There's tons of untrained workers in any city, and tons of literate scribes looking for entry-level work anywhere Alydra has a presence. And... where would I go? Back to Draslina? With what travel money? I can't go to Nyra, I'm a threat to a Light and their family. So I've been worried. This... This solves all that. Easily. And you're just... giving it to me? You could have a s-slave for l-life if you slipped it to me in bits and bobs, never letting me get enough saved up to get free, but instead you just... hand me freedom like it's nothing."

[Bethany]

Beth listens intently as Marian continues, her expression sobering as the numbers sink in. A silver a day? I would spend more than that on snacks when we went to the part to... oh gods. I would spend a couple of silver on sweet drinks and spiced fruits right in front of Marian and the entire time she was... "I would- gods Marian, I am so, so sorry. I should have- I wanted to surprise you with this, so I- I- But I should have told you I was planning to give you all of this ages ago, but Varric wasn't done selling the last of it until after the quest thing and then you were hurt and then the tests and I just- I'm sorry I made you worry a minute longer than you needed to."

[Marian Hawke]

Marian nods. "I... I worry a lot," she admits, weakly. "You shouldn't feel bad, just... I just wanted you to understand how grateful I am."

[Bethany]

Beth nods, eyes still remorseful. "Thank you for that. I... Tell me more? About you, I mean. About... You said you went to school? I only ever had tutors, what was school like? Or about your first crush? A story about you and Helene. Anything really, just... I want to know you, not the Marian I daydreamed about."

[Marian Hawke]

"School was... well, it feels normal to me, since I spent half my life there. Picture a room with forty desks, and forty kids sitting there, but only one teacher. He'd write problems on a chalkboard in the front of the room, and we'd all have to work on them. If you fell behind, it was your responsibility to catch back up, practicing on your own; he'd give tests every other week or so, and if we didn't pass, we'd have to do extra worksheets and so on until we could prove we'd learned. I never had that problem, but some of my friends did, over the years. There was this one girl, Ariel, whose hair was red like fox-fur -- she fell behind in maths and I offered to help her catch back up..."

As she talks, Marian seems to settle into her skin more, relaxing a bit and becoming more comfortable. It soothes her to be asked, clearly; she can talk about her school days without further trauma, without hurting herself. The idea that someone could care about what happened to her, could seek out her opinion, clearly means a lot to her; as she reminisces about her first crush, the girl who barely recognized her as a classmate, a fond smile slips across her face. I was so foolish then, she seems to be saying with her expression. I was young and naive. I wonder what I'd say, if I saw her again? It's been years, now, she might be someone totally different these days...

[Isabela]

Isabela gives her face one more rough scrub, despite knowing she's gotten all the lipstick off a few minutes ago. She stares at her reflection in the stream they've camped near, recognizing herself more accurately in water than she would in silver-backed glass. What must he think of me? she wonders, not for the first time. Does he still find me worth saving? Is he glad to see Isabela, or just shocked that I've changed so much? And why do I care so damn much what he thinks? Oh, Isabela, you've really gotten in over your head this time.

She straightens, taking a deep breath as she turns, makes her way to the campsite and into the tent where Zev is waiting.