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peopleofthedas2011-09-15 12:22 am
sagacious_rage) wrote in peopleofthedas2011-09-15 12:22 am
So Blind in the Sun, Chapter 5: Harvestmere
Title: Harvestmere
Rating: This chapter: G
Pairing F!Hawke/Sebastian
Warnings: none in this chapter
Word Count: 1139
Chapter Summary: Some agreements have strings attached. And some agreements have chains.
Story Summary: The Chantry is in ruins, the Gallows has been annulled, and Laica Hawke has been named Viscountess of Kirkwall and is betrothed to Prince Sebastian Vael. But happily-ever-after is for fairy tales.
Author's Note: This sequel to the Let Love Go series was written for the Bioware Bang on LiveJournal, and will be updated Tuesdays and Thursdays. The amazing cover art was provided by the incredibly talented Ashmouth. This fic also had a lot of very, very helpful betas. In no particular order:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
xogs, zuelie, jessicajones, and neaira
Harvestmere
Sebastian
It was more than he had dared to hope for. Sebastian could not contain his happiness, and impulsively hugged Grand Cleric Griselda. “Thank you so much,” he enthused, “You don’t know what this means to me. To us!” He laughed. “Yes, ‘us’! If I am to be married, I should stop thinking of myself in the singular!”
“Yes, my child,” Griselda said calmly as she gently extracted herself from his embrace. “That way of thinking will benefit you in the future.” She coughed a dry, hacking cough, and Sebastian was suddenly struck by how old and frail she looked. So different from the Griselda he knew a boy. Back then she was a hale, hardy woman, capable of quelling the most spirited child into silence with a mere look. And Maker save the poor soul who ever found themselves in the path of her raised voice.
He grabbed her hand. “Please, will you perform the ceremony?” He would have liked to have asked Elthina, but that was not an option any longer. He allowed himself a moment to feel the dull ache of sorrow at that thought.
“Of course I will, my child,” she rasped, patting his hand. “Provided your betrothed does as the Divine asks.”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed quickly, grinning like a fool. “I’ll go write her a letter now. I cannot wait until she is able to join us here. Griselda, she is the most amazing woman I have ever met. I am sure you will love her. Everybody does.”
Griselda chuckled drily. “Forgive me if I reserve my judgment until I am fortunate enough to meet the woman, my child. Now, I believe you have a letter to write.”
“Yes! Yes of course! If you’ll excuse me,” he bowed and bounded out of the Chantry, taking the stairs two at a time and heading for the palace.
***
It wasn’t until he was out falconing with Varric that he felt his feet touch the ground again. He smiled as his bird soared, so far out of sight that he almost lost it in the clouds.
“So tell me, Prince,” Varric said as he retrieved his falcon from the cage. “You’ve taken your city back, what’s the next step?”
Sebastian once again could hardly contain his glee. “I have been granted permission to take Laica as my bride!” he declared.
“You must be one smooth talker with the priestly types, Choir Boy.” Varric quipped, cleaning his falcon’s claws. “How did you finally convince the Divine, anyway?”
Sebastian held out his arm out for his falcon, who was turning lazy circles in the air. “I was forced to make some concessions, as expected. And I don’t expect Laica will be very pleased about what she is expected to do.”
Varric held his arm up, encouraging his falcon to fly. “What does the Divine want?”
“She wants her to report to the White Spire so the Knight-Vigilant and the Grand Inquisitor can examine her for signs of blood magic.” Sebastian explained. “From what I understand, they’re just going to ask her some questions and check for signs of scarring. Unfortunately,” he winced, “I don’t expect Laica to go happily. She will find it most insulting. But we must disprove these rumors about her before we move ahead.”
Varric stared at him, thunderstruck. “You can’t be serious, Sebastian.”
Sebastian sighed. “I know you are not the most devout of men, friend Varric. But Laica and I take our faith most seriously, and are prepared to bow to the will of the Chantry, particularly in such a simple and, quite frankly, sensible request.”
Varric set his jaw. “Look, I might not be much for all this Chantry business but I can smell a trap a mile away. You send Laica there? You’ll be getting a broken doll as a bride.”
A chill stole up Sebastian’s spine as he realized how deadly serious Varric was. “The Grand Cleric was quite clear with me that she would not be harmed,” he protested with more confidence than he felt. “I did ask for clarification on that point, I assure you.”
There was a long silence as Varric carefully put his falcon back in its cage and turned back to him. “Sebastian. Just think about this. You can’t trust these people. After everything that happened in Kirkwall, after how hard they howled when she was named viscountess, you think they’re just going to ask her a few questions, pat her on the ass and send her on her way?”
Sebastian’s temper began to rise. “Are you honestly questioning the White Divine’s motives?”
“You don’t get to be the Grand Inquisitor by asking questions politely!” Varric exclaimed in exasperation. “For the love of Light, Sebastian, dig your head out of the sand and think about this!”
Sebastian went completely cold as he realized that Varric was right. Even if the Grand Cleric believed what she had told him, those above her in the hierarchy would hardly be bound by her assurances. “I have found in my travels that has seemed as if there were people deliberately slandering Laica. If the Knight-Vigilant believed these lies, he would be… very thorough in his examination.”
Varric sighed, partially in relief and partially in resignation. “Exactly. So the question now is, how do we keep her out of Orlais without raising suspicion.”
Sebastian realized his falcon was returning and put up his arm just in time to give it a perch. Grunting slightly on impact, he braced himself for Varric’s reaction. “I already sent her word that she is expected.”
Varric took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. “She’s going to want to go. The sodding stubborn…” he trailed off in a grumble. “She’ll probably think she can use this opportunity to talk the White Divine into whatever grand reform solution she’s concocted lately.”
Sebastian carefully placed his falcon back in its cage, feeling numb. “We have to go back and talk her out of it. She must listen to reason!”
“No,” Varric shook his head firmly. “If they think we’re complying, that gives us more time. Write again, to her and to Aveline. Explain it to both of them, and we stay far away as if we’re none the wiser. They’ll figure something out.”
Sebastian rubbed his face with his hand. “Maker, what have I done?”
Varric shook his head. “None of that, Choir Boy. We don’t have time for self-flagellation.” He hefted his cage and started making his way back to the palace. “Let’s get going.”
Rating: This chapter: G
Pairing F!Hawke/Sebastian
Warnings: none in this chapter
Word Count: 1139
Chapter Summary: Some agreements have strings attached. And some agreements have chains.
Story Summary: The Chantry is in ruins, the Gallows has been annulled, and Laica Hawke has been named Viscountess of Kirkwall and is betrothed to Prince Sebastian Vael. But happily-ever-after is for fairy tales.
Author's Note: This sequel to the Let Love Go series was written for the Bioware Bang on LiveJournal, and will be updated Tuesdays and Thursdays. The amazing cover art was provided by the incredibly talented Ashmouth. This fic also had a lot of very, very helpful betas. In no particular order:
xogs, zuelie, jessicajones, and neairaSebastian
It was more than he had dared to hope for. Sebastian could not contain his happiness, and impulsively hugged Grand Cleric Griselda. “Thank you so much,” he enthused, “You don’t know what this means to me. To us!” He laughed. “Yes, ‘us’! If I am to be married, I should stop thinking of myself in the singular!”
“Yes, my child,” Griselda said calmly as she gently extracted herself from his embrace. “That way of thinking will benefit you in the future.” She coughed a dry, hacking cough, and Sebastian was suddenly struck by how old and frail she looked. So different from the Griselda he knew a boy. Back then she was a hale, hardy woman, capable of quelling the most spirited child into silence with a mere look. And Maker save the poor soul who ever found themselves in the path of her raised voice.
He grabbed her hand. “Please, will you perform the ceremony?” He would have liked to have asked Elthina, but that was not an option any longer. He allowed himself a moment to feel the dull ache of sorrow at that thought.
“Of course I will, my child,” she rasped, patting his hand. “Provided your betrothed does as the Divine asks.”
“Yes, of course,” he agreed quickly, grinning like a fool. “I’ll go write her a letter now. I cannot wait until she is able to join us here. Griselda, she is the most amazing woman I have ever met. I am sure you will love her. Everybody does.”
Griselda chuckled drily. “Forgive me if I reserve my judgment until I am fortunate enough to meet the woman, my child. Now, I believe you have a letter to write.”
“Yes! Yes of course! If you’ll excuse me,” he bowed and bounded out of the Chantry, taking the stairs two at a time and heading for the palace.
It wasn’t until he was out falconing with Varric that he felt his feet touch the ground again. He smiled as his bird soared, so far out of sight that he almost lost it in the clouds.
“So tell me, Prince,” Varric said as he retrieved his falcon from the cage. “You’ve taken your city back, what’s the next step?”
Sebastian once again could hardly contain his glee. “I have been granted permission to take Laica as my bride!” he declared.
“You must be one smooth talker with the priestly types, Choir Boy.” Varric quipped, cleaning his falcon’s claws. “How did you finally convince the Divine, anyway?”
Sebastian held out his arm out for his falcon, who was turning lazy circles in the air. “I was forced to make some concessions, as expected. And I don’t expect Laica will be very pleased about what she is expected to do.”
Varric held his arm up, encouraging his falcon to fly. “What does the Divine want?”
“She wants her to report to the White Spire so the Knight-Vigilant and the Grand Inquisitor can examine her for signs of blood magic.” Sebastian explained. “From what I understand, they’re just going to ask her some questions and check for signs of scarring. Unfortunately,” he winced, “I don’t expect Laica to go happily. She will find it most insulting. But we must disprove these rumors about her before we move ahead.”
Varric stared at him, thunderstruck. “You can’t be serious, Sebastian.”
Sebastian sighed. “I know you are not the most devout of men, friend Varric. But Laica and I take our faith most seriously, and are prepared to bow to the will of the Chantry, particularly in such a simple and, quite frankly, sensible request.”
Varric set his jaw. “Look, I might not be much for all this Chantry business but I can smell a trap a mile away. You send Laica there? You’ll be getting a broken doll as a bride.”
A chill stole up Sebastian’s spine as he realized how deadly serious Varric was. “The Grand Cleric was quite clear with me that she would not be harmed,” he protested with more confidence than he felt. “I did ask for clarification on that point, I assure you.”
There was a long silence as Varric carefully put his falcon back in its cage and turned back to him. “Sebastian. Just think about this. You can’t trust these people. After everything that happened in Kirkwall, after how hard they howled when she was named viscountess, you think they’re just going to ask her a few questions, pat her on the ass and send her on her way?”
Sebastian’s temper began to rise. “Are you honestly questioning the White Divine’s motives?”
“You don’t get to be the Grand Inquisitor by asking questions politely!” Varric exclaimed in exasperation. “For the love of Light, Sebastian, dig your head out of the sand and think about this!”
Sebastian went completely cold as he realized that Varric was right. Even if the Grand Cleric believed what she had told him, those above her in the hierarchy would hardly be bound by her assurances. “I have found in my travels that has seemed as if there were people deliberately slandering Laica. If the Knight-Vigilant believed these lies, he would be… very thorough in his examination.”
Varric sighed, partially in relief and partially in resignation. “Exactly. So the question now is, how do we keep her out of Orlais without raising suspicion.”
Sebastian realized his falcon was returning and put up his arm just in time to give it a perch. Grunting slightly on impact, he braced himself for Varric’s reaction. “I already sent her word that she is expected.”
Varric took a deep breath and let it out slowly through his nose. “She’s going to want to go. The sodding stubborn…” he trailed off in a grumble. “She’ll probably think she can use this opportunity to talk the White Divine into whatever grand reform solution she’s concocted lately.”
Sebastian carefully placed his falcon back in its cage, feeling numb. “We have to go back and talk her out of it. She must listen to reason!”
“No,” Varric shook his head firmly. “If they think we’re complying, that gives us more time. Write again, to her and to Aveline. Explain it to both of them, and we stay far away as if we’re none the wiser. They’ll figure something out.”
Sebastian rubbed his face with his hand. “Maker, what have I done?”
Varric shook his head. “None of that, Choir Boy. We don’t have time for self-flagellation.” He hefted his cage and started making his way back to the palace. “Let’s get going.”