Chapter Seven: Le Voyage à Val Royeaux
Author's Note: Now that everyone has mounts, (made up, very roughly guesstimated and fudged) travel times are going to be based on mounted travel unless otherwise noted.
FF is now caught up with what is published on AO3. xx
xXx
"Having them address the clerics is not a terrible idea."
"You can't be serious?"
"Mother Giselle isn't wrong. At the moment, the Chantry's only strength is that they are united in opinion."
"And we should ignore the danger to either of them?"
"Why don't we ask them, then?"
xXx
They'd only really been back at Haven long enough to argue over whether or not going to Val Roy...al? in person was a good idea or not.
Sure, they could fight demons and close rifts, but their safety was being compromised talking to clerics and the potential angry mobs surrounding them. Cassandra had finally been the voice of reason, reminding everyone that they had no functioning support in closing the Breach. There was no other option but to head out once more. Whatever would get this Breach and mark business over the quickest, or lead to a way to get them back home.
Or at least herself, since Bevin didn't exactly seem all that concerned about going back. It was finally beginning to set in that this really wasn't a wacky dream – at least not one she'd be waking from anytime soon – and that she really was stuck in this strange land. The petite Mage was perfectly content to run around waving her staff and setting things on fire. Like this was some convoluted game. Though she had to agree with the redhead, there was little point in sitting around moping. Just because she evidently had more to lose than her comrade, didn't mean that it was fair to take it out on Bevin. If they were to be stuck here, they may as well make the most of it, and "adapt or whither" as was put rather cryptically by more than one person.
Nichole had used what little time they'd had before setting out to scrub up, get a fresh change of clothes, and eat something fresh, besides meat and whatever weird plants the elf yanked up, for the first time in weeks. She'd be on the road for likely over a month again with the same ragtag group, going by the advisers' time estimates for getting to the capital and back again. At least they would all have horses this time since the horsemaster had hit the ground running with his duties. In the time left, she'd sought out the Commander. Talking with Cullen was serving to keep her grounded and she wouldn't be able to see him again for quite some time. The man seemed like one of the few normal things around. He treated her like a person, not a pawn to be used with no consideration to her feelings in the matter. He didn't fully understand the magic stuff either or the thoughts of Mages, but he tried to see things from the other perspective despite being a former Templar, and helped her to do so, as well. Bevin was one of those people who liked to dive into books and just know things – the academic sort. Solas was the same, so she connected well with him. It was new and shiny, so throwing herself into her magic was probably her way of coping and adapting. Much like how Nichole found new thrill and focus in her arms training.
She'd never admit it, but she was kind of jealous of how easy Bevin seemed to fit into the culture here. Bevin had certainly had her complaints at first, but she wasn't the whinging sort. Having to find somewhere in the bushes to pee while they traveled didn't bother her. Not having proper hair products didn't bother her. Having primitive foods didn't bother her. Not having a proper change of clothes for weeks didn't bother her. Having to hunt and forage when they wanted food beyond their rations didn't bother her. Having no hot water to bath with had bothered her…until she found a way to cheat with her magic.
It was all so exhausting. If she ever found a way back home, she'd really have to give thanks for all of her privileges there.
She'd asked Bevin how she dealt with so much of this so well and had been hit with, "I've had to do this before." Nichole had almost forgotten that she'd grown up sheltered in some backwater cult society – Bevin didn't look or act the part, not that she knew many ex-cult members. Going from that to the real world had to have been quite the culture shock. And while that was confirmed true, that apparently wasn't what Bevin had meant. "Also very true, but I mean all this. Whenever I managed to run away from home when I was younger, I lived in the forests."
The younger woman tended to keep to select people when not off alone. Given that, Bevin still somehow knew the odd names of damn near everyone. The cooks and servants adored her. Bevin's answer to that had alarmed her and made her realize that she wasn't doing enough to fit in with the people here. The redhead was very concerned, perhaps a little overly so, about how others perceived her because of her powers, using citations of the Salem witch trials and various movies. "I'm normally a nice, friendly person, but I'm very familiar with crazy and don't really need anyone turning on me because they're afraid of what I might do. Though you're not a Mage, many people see you similarly to us because of your Mark. A good dose of paranoia may be healthy in our cases. Just look at how they treated us when we first came here." Nichole had to admit, she'd really tried to push memories of that first day out of her head.
Once they were heading back out, Nichole had been hit with a strong sense of schadenfreude watching Bevin flounder with her reindeer mount-thing. She'd clearly never ridden before and was not at all comfortable, in turn making her mount shifty. Nichole, however, had frequently ridden since she was young. It was comforting being back in the saddle – something familiar in this vast world of things that weren't. It was nice being better than her at something.
xXx
Val Roy-o was a good few weeks' travel on horseback, plus a day trip across some body of water. They'd be going through a series of outposts and stops manned by scouts and those friendly towards the Inquisition in order to keep their supplies up and be able to periodically receive and send word back to Haven.
Bevin freaked out at the first relatively clear sky they'd yet seen – Nichole was happy for it, but only because of how absolutely dreary and mood-dampening it had been up til then. Bevin wasn't exactly what she'd call easily excitable, and she had squealed in elation before hastily scribbling something in the notebook she always carried on her. Nichole didn't fully understand the significance of whatever Bevin had seen, nor did she know enough about space-anything to be able to parse the words tumbling quickly from the redhead's mouth.
"Your neck's gonna get stuck like that," she warned in jest as Bevin watched the skies with her head keened back at an uncomfortable position.
Bevin sighed loudly in what could only be exasperation. She pointed up, tracing shapes in the sky, "That's Orion the Hunter. And there's Ursa Major!" She turned in her saddle, "And Venus! I've been trying to figure out if we were on some other planet and or in a different universe. We're on another version of Earth – in an alternate universe. It pretty much proves the multi-verse theory!" Everyone else was now craning their necks towards the sky, trying to see what Bevin saw. Cassandra and Varric were mumbling over not being familiar with those constellations.
She grit her teeth, running her fingers restlessly through her hair loose about her shoulders, "Dandy. What does that mean?" That was cool and all, but if it didn't help them get home, it was just another pointless fact.
Bevin tilted her head down to look at her and did that little wiggle-puff up thing she did whenever she was about to go into some complex explanation, "Well, the first step in figuring out how we got here and how to get back is working out the relationship between here and our world." Okay, that…made sense. Nichole relaxed.
"And then what? What's the next step?" Nichole asked, eager to see if Bevin had worked out a plan.
"Well, we got here through magic. Or a worm hole. Or both. So, on the bright side, we don't need a rocketship!" She was smiling in a way that Nichole was sure was meant to be reassuring. Great. She didn't actually have a plan.
Nichole deflated atop her mount.
From behind her she could hear the hope in Bevin's tone, "It gives direction for research. We have to have an idea of where to look to even really get started properly."
Nichole wished there was a way that she could help, too. But she didn't understand enough about mana and magic and the Veil and the freaking Fade. Bevin had tried to help her comprehend, hell, she'd even gone to Solas to see if he could explain it any clearer. She wanted neither of them talking down to her, but it was clear that she wasn't at their level of scholarship. She'd asked to borrow some of Bevin's beginner's magic books to see if she could pick it up on her own at a slower pace – one of the dang heavy things was taking up valuable space in her pack.
She hoped that if she understood the basics of what they talked about, then she'd at least be able to follow along in their conversations and keep her eyes and ears open for relevant information.
The only real hiccups came from the occasional bandit entourage, overly curious villagers, and their group psychic going all glowy-eyed, passing out, and nearly falling off her reindeer a few days out from their destination. Bevin had been silent for several moments processing her vision with a deep frown. She'd ultimately refused to share it with the group, which was new and lead to much protest from Cassandra. "This one's too delicate and shouldn't change, saying too much could alter it." She didn't look particularly solemn or worried yet, but she wouldn't even say if it had to do with Val Royeaux or their boat trip or something else. She'd trust her judgment, though. Maybe this vision was only to serve to keep their guard up.
xXx
Their day at Val Royeaux had been a wake-up call. It had been quite some time since she was treated with fear and derision instead of awe and having people throw throw themselves at her. Once again, she and Bevin were being called monsters and a murderers and "false prophets." The last being kinda laughable given how Bevin could literally see the future.
Then arguing with a cleric, only to have a Templar march up and punch the elder across the face. It had been one part funny and many parts terrifying. And then to be called more names with the Inquisition further dragged through the mud by this "Lord Seeker." Cullen had mentioned gaining the support of the Templars to help close the Breach. Were these the people that he had meant? Did they really want to be reaching out to them and their self-important leader? At any rate, through the actions of all, the "seeds of uncertainty" had been sewn among the Chantry and the Orlesians.
xXx
In the end, they'd some how ended up with a requested meeting with the leader of the Mage Rebellion, a Grand Enchanter Fionna; picking up a ragamuffin "not-elfy," Sera; and being invited to the estate of one Madame de Fer. All-in-all, it looked as though their trip had been well worth the time and effort.
Nichole overheard Solas speaking with Bevin behind the rest of the group as they left the city. She didn't know him well enough to be able to read him very well, so tried her best to listen in without being too obvious. Her vision had been of the speech at the forum and the Templars' intervention and grandstanding? His tone said that he was sure of this. Bevin readily confirmed, probably because it was now well over. That was why Bevin hadn't reacted like everyone else when the head Templar guy slugged the nun lady.
"I find no fault in your decision to keep it secret. With a power so tenuous, being delicate is a must." Cassandra had said much in opposition to this decision. His reassuring words had the effect of brightening Bevin's heavy mood again.
The redhead laughed lightly, relaxing her gait, "Well, no-one had died or been seriously injured and I quite wanted it to stay that way."
"Next time, however, do not let your gaze reveal your knowledge. Others may make inferences from your posture, your fidgeting, your reactions – or lack thereof. Hints you must not drop." Praise and critique all at once. The guy had a way of killing a mood, and she watched as Bevin winced and her shoulders dropped once more. She must have agreed with him or she would have been quick with some kind of retort.
xXx
The now slightly expanded group had decided to make the two day trip to the Ghislain Estate just north of Val Royeaux after sending word back to Haven via one of Sister Leliana's scouts. They were already in the area, so why waste a trip?
Bevin, for one, seemed relieved that they had finally left the fancy city behind. She was rubbing at her temples and sneered, "Ugh. Orlesian's like French word salad. It's got all the same sounds, tones, and inflections, but the words are, like, ninety percent different, so my brain just parses it as gibberish… Makes my head hurt."
Nichole laughed, screwing up her face as she tried to imagine it, "I can't even picture an equivalent. I took a whole semester of Spanish in high-school, though, so foreign languages aren't exactly my specialty."
Bevin tipped her head back, her jaw cocked until she thought of something. "There's a song by an Italian composer that tries to mimic what English rock music sounds like to non-speakers, for native speakers. That's pretty close. Not sure I have it, though. It's kind of like the… oh, what is it? 'Has anyone really been even go want to look more like' meme thing." Her finger circled in the air next to her head as she continued dryly, "Except that it's kind of this constant tittering around you, and you feel like you're going mad because it all sounds so nonsensical."
There was a snort from the newcomer. "Pffft, even when they speak Common, it's nothin' but ground up gibberish!" Sera piped in. "You just have the benefit of hearin' it for what it really is. So, you guys really aren't from here? I mean, I just thought it was some stupid rumor to go along with you bein' giant demons an' that dumb shit."
"I think we're from a different…version of this world." Nichole's eyes slid to Bevin who just nodded and shrugged. "Like, really different."
"No shit? Face tattoos popular in your world, too?" Sera asked, met with a groan from Bevin.
"Nope! Quite the opposite," Nichole answered for her.
Sera leaned forward in attempt to get a better look at Bevin's face, "So, what are they? They've nothin' to do with that dumb elfy ritual where they mark 'emselves up for their bloody gods, yeah?" Nichole looked to Bevin, having no idea what the prankster elf was even talking about.
"No, it's not a 'valla-whatever,'" Bevin grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Vallas'lin," Solas supplied.
"That," Bevin agreed. Nichole wondered if her stark markings garnered this question often to provoke such a grievance from her.
Sera was unsatisfied and continued to poke, "What are they, then?"
"Not a clue. But enough about my face, she's the one with the glowing hand!" Nichole caught the wink the redhead gave her. Oh, the sneak! She was just trying to off-load the pestering questions to her!
Unfortunately, her tactic was successful, so now Nichole was left fielding Sera's many inquiries while Bevin whistled some vaguely familiar tune, daydreaming off to the distance. Solas entered their conversation once she started asking over Sera's origins. Watching them bicker back and forth had proved to be quite entertaining. She was gathering that they were both oddities for elves.
xXx
They picked up another damn smarter-than-thou Mage from their trip to that fancy-schmancy mansion. Granted, she seemed to be at almost immediate odds with Bevin and Solas and…really just everyone. At least she was traveling to Haven on her own and not hitching up with them all the way back. No-one seemed particularly thrilled to have Vivienne joining their ranks, but it was argued that the Enchantress would be a good ally to have.
Nichole would just be glad when they got back to Haven. Hopefully they'd get more than a day's rest before anything else this time.
xXx
Everyone was just settling in for the night. Bevin was stoking the fire and throwing more wood in when Nichole came back out and sat next to her, casting glances to the elf lying on the ground watching the stars.
Nichole was fidgeting with her fingers and biting her lip. Bevin raised a brow, somewhat concerned at this odd behavior, "What's wrong?" When there was no reply, she turned to face the blonde.
Nichole was deliberately avoiding her gaze, pink in the cheeks. After a few false starts, she managed to hastily whisper, "Aunt Flow finally came to visit. How do I deal with her?"
Bevin stared at her blankly until it clicked what she was talking about. She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. She was not the best one to ask for this. "Sorry, you'll have to ask Cassandra or Sera. It's not really something that I…have to deal with anymore."
Brief confusion gave way to a hint of interest, "Lucky! You have that fancy birth control?"
"Er…sort of?" Bevin trailed off.
Nichole pulled a face, her voice raising slightly now that she wasn't quite as embarrassed, "I should have gotten one of those. I kept worrying over the side effects and horror cases, though. Which do you have? What're you gonna do when it needs to come out?" She looked like she was about to start panicking for her.
Bevin's lips quirked, "The kind where they remove your uterus. And it's already out, I had a few periodic, cleared check-ups, so there's no worrying for the rest of ever." Not one but two heads had snapped towards her. Only one wore a look of horror, however. Bevin rolled her eyes, "I had it removed to fix the shit it was causing. It was like having Gary Busey as a property manager who'd throw a shit fit whenever he thought a new tenant should have moved in. Which was, like, every other week, but sometimes non-stop for a few months. So I had the property torn down."
Nichole's face turned pitiful when Bevin was really hoping for a laugh, "Oh, that's sad. So you can't have kids?"
She looked at her incredulously, "Sad? Thank the gods. I've never wanted any. Permanent birth control, for the win. Especially here. I dunno what the fuck they use to not get pregnant, and now I don't have to worry about that. Just…venereal disease." She grinned.
"What if you change your mind?" Nichole asked. Bevin scowled at her. The blonde shrugged and defended the inquiry, "Lots of people say they don't want kids, but then they decide they do later."
Nichole loved her prying, invasive, kind of inappropriate questions. She flatly replied, "Change my mind? From what? I made my decision. It's not something that I give any thought to – aside from when I get asked about it." Bevin pointedly looked to Nichole. "Dude, it was my uterus or my health. I gladly chose my health and practically had to fight for it until I finally found a doctor who'd fix me instead of just loading me up on more pills forever. I was sick of the side effects and my IUD just made it worse. I feel so much better with it gone."
Nichole's tone pitched high, "Doctors don't want to do that kind of thing because lots of people do change their minds or regret it! A guy I worked with was trying to figure out how to get his vasectomy reversed because his wife wanted another kid." Bevin sighed with a roll of her eyes, out with the anecdotes.
She propped her elbow on her knee and palmed her chin as she eyed Nichole. Her nostrils flared in aggravation, "I knew several people who started having kids practically as soon as they were able, fourteen, fifteen years old – in their damn teens. I can choose to pop out kids at any time, with no thought to how stable my life is, but I can't choose to not have any? What, because I'm 'too young' to be able to make decisions for myself?" The last part was hissed out, trying to remain mindful that they were surrounded by others who didn't exactly need to be privy to the conversation or rudely woken up. Nichole looked to be stunned into silence.
They were quiet for a time before Nichole thought up another question, "What if your future SO wants them?"
Bevin almost didn't deign that worth a serious response, if one at all. She went halvesies, "They'd be pretty shit outta luck. I have no vacancies and don't want to be adopting anything other than dogs and fluffy critters. As is, I don't date people who want kids. Which, yeah, makes dating fucking hard in a society where everyone's baby-crazy." She rather wondered how she'd fare in this world. Enough people in her own considered her to be a "broken women" with no womb and zero aspirations for offspring.
She tossed another stick into the fire and poked it with more force than really needed. "Really though, for period stuff, ask Cassandra or Sera. If you're lucky, one of them's probably even still awake."
Nichole pouted, sitting a few more moments before yawning and standing to slowly making her way back to her tent.
Bevin slid forward from the log to sit on the ground closer to the fire. It was warm enough here that she had removed her cloak and mantle, but the warmth of the fire still felt nice against her bared arms.
"For your future reference," came Solas' voice in a low timber from across the fire, "and that of Miss Nichole, there are herbal mixtures that can be taken for the prevention of pregnancy. Likewise, there are remedies and healers for various…venereal diseases." How nice of him to inform her, even when his tone was a clear plea to not go fooling around.
"So bloody glad I don't have to deal with half of that," Bevin mumbled to herself as she slumped back against the log behind her. "And periods." She giggled silently at her unintentional choice of words.
