So I'm back after such a long time with another update to this story here that others probably figured I stopped writing. Well, I decided to update and perhaps give some more focus to this. You can blame college and the Digimon fandom for the wait, since Digimon is what I write the most and it's the fandom I'm most involved with. Anyways, I do think it's about time this story made a comeback.
Quote of the day:
"With the best intentions? Some of the worst things imaginable have been done with the best intentions."
— Dr. Grant, Jurassic Park III
"It's times like this," groaned Hawke as he lifted a heavy and dusty box and planted it on top of the ornate Orlesian tea table that Carver had sent him and Merrill for their fifth wedding anniversary, "that I REALLY miss having a manservant."
Merrill giggled and nodded her head, she too missing Bodahn and Sandal since she had always been fond of the two Dwarfs, and she motioned her two oldest children, her youngest son Tamlen being asleep, to gather around the large box that she and Hawke had found tucked away in one of the often forgotten corners of their house. The old and dusty box proved that spring cleaning was indeed important, and as Merrill walked to Hawke's side and stared down at the grimy and seemingly ancient wooden container that Hawke had had trouble lifting, the Elf pondered what other wonderful secrets were hidden elsewhere in her home. Being able to find knickknacks and trinkets that had otherwise faded from memory was always nice, but the thing that Merrill enjoyed the most about finding something where it wasn't expected was the fact that it was kind of like an adventure.
It wasn't like traveling through the Deep Roads to find an ancient treasure lost through time, or it wasn't like saving a city from the Qunari in a climatic and epic duel to the death with the Arishok, but it had it's own quaint little charm to it all. It reminded the Dalish woman of her times as a girl where she, Mahariel, and Tamlen would sneak off after dark, and after Marethari had fallen asleep, where the three of them would wander just a little bit into the forest to pretend to be Dalish adventurers discovering the wondrous secrets of the Elvhen people through their midnight journeys. Of course, it wouldn't be until years after those small adventures that Mahariel and Tamlen did indeed discover one of the secrets that had been lost to the Dalish, the dark beckoning of the Eluvian causing Merrill to shiver when she remembered it, but what became of the two young lovers was much too tragic to be worth whatever knowledge the mirror could have brought.
Merrill rested a hand on the tarnished wood of the dusty old box, at the same time reciting a small Elvhen prayer for Mahariel and Tamlen in her head, and she sighed as she let her mind drift away from the Stygian thoughts and sad memories that had once been the focus of her life. She had a new life now, one as a mommy to a litter of little Human children, and though life on a farm wasn't exactly as exciting as the stories she heard of the roguish Captain Isabela treading the seas of Thedas while she stole from the rich and gave to the poor, or the legend of the Warden who gave up everything in life to chase after the dark and beautiful sorceress he had fallen in love with during the Blight, a quiet and simple existence with her family was just as satisfying to her.
"I wonder what's inside," Bethany pondered out loud, the young girl narrowing her eyes at the box before she turned her head to look at her parents, "if there's anything magic, can I have it?"
Her brother Malcolm just snorted before either of his parents could reply to her, "What if I want it? You don't get first pick just because you can make your hands glow blue."
"I can do more than that," Bethany scoffed and crossed her arms, "I can set you on fire with my brain."
With her two oldest children glaring at each other after bickering, Merrill rolled her eyes since it brought back old memories of Marethari threatening to turn the aravel around after just a twinge too many instances of hair pulling between members of the clan. With a graceful hop that could only be performed by an Elf, Merrill stepped in between her children and bent down a little, resting a hand on each of their shoulders. They looked at her and she smiled brightly at them, her children being adorable to her even as they threatened to mutilate each other. "Who knows, maybe there will be something in there for all of us?"
The two kids each gave a grunt, which although it wasn't exactly the best reaction in the world, it was good enough for Merrill as she laughed and then looked over at Hawke. "Ma'vhenan, can you open the box now?"
Hawke smiled at his wife and nodded at her before his hands found their way to the latch that was holding the box closed. It took a little bit of a struggle, what with the wooden container apparently not having been opened in years, but after a decent amount of tugging he was finally able to pop it open. "Let's see," Hawke muttered as he as lifted the container top up and gave a deep blow to try to disperse the dust that had collected since the last time that someone had handled it, "I hope that whatever we find doesn't try to kill us. That sort of happens a lot."
As Hawke started to remove the contents of the box and placed them on the empty space of the tea table that Carver had been sweet enough to send them, Merrill's eyes widened with delight when she saw what they were. It wasn't any ancient artifact, with the Eluvian and the Lyrium Idol that had caused them so much heartache the two of them had seen enough of those for one lifetime, and it wasn't money either, Hawke being far too wealthy from his time in Kirkwall for either of them to care about coin anymore, but instead it was something much more valuable. She practically bounced with giddy to Hawke's amusement and her children's confusion when she saw that the contents of the long forgotten wooden box were the greatest thing in the world: books.
There were a lot more than she would have expected, which of course explained the heaviness of the box and the tiny bit of trouble that James had in lifting it and getting it open, but that just meant that there were that many more things that they would be able to learn. She doubted that there were any Dalish books among the ones that had started to pile up from the stacks that Hawke was beginning to create, and history books in particular tended to be a bit more biased in their support of Humans over Elves, but knowledge was knowledge, and she couldn't wait to find out just what exactly had been hiding in their home for all these years.
Not really sure why their mother was grinning so much, Bethany and Malcolm shared a look with one another, before Malcolm shrugged and Bethany reached out to grab one of the books that was sitting on top of one of the piles that her dad was still stacking. "Hard in Hightown?" she read the cover of the book out loud, and then began to open it up to actually see whatever it was about.
With a speed quicker than any of the bolts of lighting he had shot at his enemies over the years, Hawke immediately stopped what he was doing, and grabbed the well-written piece of smut out of his daughter's grasp. He coughed, and handed the book over to his wife since his kids were still a tad bit too young to be indulging themselves in the phenomenon that was the Hard in Hightown series of books. He rubbed the back of his neck in nervousness, before grabbing another book at random to give to his daughter.
"Here," a red-faced Hawke said while very pointedly not looking at Bethany, before resuming with what he was doing when the girl accepted his desperate offering, "I think you'll like this one better."
Even more confused than she was about her mother, Bethany figured that it was best if she just let it go, but she couldn't help but frown when she saw what it was that her father had given her, the book that was now in her hands sounding much less interesting. "Kirkwall: Laws and Ordinances?"
Having seen how her daughter's face scrunched up in disappointment at the title of her new book, Merrill could do nothing else but giggle at that. The book was a gift from Aveline, who was prompted to give all of her companions copies of the Kirkwall law book by drunken stories hailing the daring adventurer duo of Varric Tethras and James Hawke who found riches and glory in their Deep Roads expedition. Aveline, though not exactly approving of the way that Hawke nonchalantly waved off all his lawbreaking, had always been quite fond and protective of the family she had arrived in the Free Marches with. Merrill would always be appreciative of her, and especially for the fact that after Aveline had risen to City Guard Captain, that Kirkwall became just a bit safer for apostates. If nothing else, Aveline's gift had earned itself a permanent spot on one of their bookshelves. Perhaps right beside Hard in Hightown? Isabela would find that hilarious.
She smiled as her eyes drifted from book to book, heart warming just a little bit each time while she wondered just how many memories had been hiding under their noses this entire time. She didn't remember packing this box when they had moved from Kirkwall after the incident with the Chantry near the end of their time there, but she figured that it was probably Bodahn who no doubt felt obliged to help usher them into their new lives as farmers in Amaranthine before he and Sandal headed off to Orlais. Her smile disappeared though when she noticed that Hawke had frozen in place at grabbing and looking at the very last book that had been lying in the bottom of the wooden box.
"Ma'vhenan," she whispered as she took a step right behind her husband, "is everything okay?"
Hawke said nothing at first, before he set down the leather bound book he had found and then turned to face Merrill. "I think that I'm going to take a walk for a little bit," he said after a moment of silence, "Jesse and I could use the fresh air."
The Dalish woman nodded at Hawke's words, knowing that he needed to be alone with his Mabari for a little bit to clear his mind. She gave him a light kiss when he leaned in for one, and offered a smile when James took a moment to brush a hand by one of her pointed ears. She watched as Hawke called out for Jesse, the eyes of her two oldest children also following their father, and she said nothing as her husband and the family dog made their way outside. Her two children looked at one another again, both of them deciding to not say anything since it wasn't often that their usual prankster of a dad ever looked so serious. As the door closed behind Hawke though, Merrill's gaze shifted back to the leather bound book in question that had caused him to freeze up in the first place. She frowned when she picked it up and saw what it was.
"Anders' Manifesto," she whispered, Bethany and Malcolm both making their way to her side to stare down at the book in question.
"Who is Anders?" Malcolm dared to ask after a minute or so of quiet, the name sounding familiar to him, but something that the boy couldn't remember from where.
"He was an old friend of your father's," Merrill replied honestly, before setting the handwritten book back down in the spot she had found it, "but he died a very long time ago."
"He's right," Hawke admitted after Sebastian's defiant declaration, the smell of sulfur and death still clinging to the air that surrounded them, "the Grand Cleric deserves justice."
"Yes." Anders agreed, Hawke having decided his fate then and there. "I would not deny anyone's right to that. The sooner I die, the sooner my name lives on to inspire generations."
The ending to this chapter was a lot more serious and dramatic than how I had imagined going in since that last part was a spur of the moment thing, but I think it was alright to do. To make up for it, next chapter I've decided will be very happy-go-lucky, a date night in Amaranthine between Merrill and Hawke. What better can a slice of life do than show something as fun and sweet as that?