A/N: Remember when I could roll out a release in two days? Good times, good times. And I'd like to thank clennon8 for proofreading and editing. Yay!
Edit: For moar medieval gardening. Belated thanks to chipmouskin!
Disclaimer: I own the story, but not the characters. EA and Bioware does.
Leandra spent her morning as she usually did; made breakfast, ate with her daughter, and was then idly rearranging the fresh flowers that adorned the entrance of the estate's main hall. Her daughter, however, had been erratic as of late. For the past few weeks, instead of returning to her room to sleep in or going out for whatever errand she had to run, Hawke had chosen to rob Bodahn of his manservant duties until her Dalish friend dropped in for a visit. She watched her eldest fussing around the estate's main hall; breezing between rooms, listing rune and potion orders, shuffling through letters, even clearing out her adventurer's chest of old items. When Hawke disappeared into the wine cellar and reappeared in a drab shirt and ratty pants, armed with a set of chimney sweep's tools, Leandra decided to call her attention.
"Love, I think Bodahn can handle that."
"I've sent him out for a message," Hawke then made a small nod towards the vacant dwarf behind her. "And I don't trust Sandal with even the dimmest ember." Hawke blew a frozen breath that extinguished the dying fire. She then licked the frost away from her lips, regarding her task with a smirk. "Besides, if it was left to Bodahn he'd rather have it as it is, looking like a mineshaft."
The Hawke matriarch sighed. The only thing that ever worked with her daughter was bluntness. "Is there something bothering you, Marian?" Leandra noticed her daughter's slight flinch at the mention of her first name. She held a chuckle; her eldest was so used to just 'Hawke' she knew how alien it sounded to her. Maker, it sounded alien even to her, and she's her mother.
Hawke shrugged as she began shoveling the piled ash and ice in the fireplace. "Mother, believe me when I say you don't want to hear it." A burst of ashes filled the room and soot marked the woman's fine features.
Leandra covered her nose and mouth with a hand as she waved away the cloud of ash hanging around her. She gently took hold of Hawke's arm, interrupting her task. Leandra met her daughter's dirty face with a smirk. "Try me."
The eldest Hawke child sighed and emptied the ashes on a wooden bucket and dunked the shovel into it. "It's Merrill," Hawke sighed and dropped on the floor, sitting. "She's still not used to..." Hawke looked thoughtful and Leandra caught the faint blush on her daughter's face. "...touching. It's starting to affect my..." Hawke paused again, then coughed. "My pride. Let's go with that ."
Leandra looked at her daughter with a mix of shock and concern. It must be serious for Hawke to actually talk to her about her much guarded love life, and as any good mother would know, Leandra translated 'touching' to 'sex' and 'pride' to 'libido'. "I see. But how is this related to you avoiding Merrill and usurping Bodahn's chores for weeks now?"
"Months, Mother, months." Hawke loudly exhaled and slumped against the wall. She stared at the high ceiling of the estate. "I had to keep busy otherwise I might do...things. And I'm not evading Merrill, we see each other often enough in groups. Even that is bad," Hawke ran a hand through her face and hair. "So much that a passing glance makes me want to do things. To her. Even in a crowd." She turned back to Leandra, desperate. "Imagine if we're alone, Mother! I'll probably..." She paused as her brows crumpled at the waterclock. Her face then turned pale. "Shit." She mumbled as she sprang from the floor and ran up the stairs to the second floor.
Leandra watched in confusion as her eldest squirmed through the iron grills of the second floor windows. "Marian Hawke, what are you doing?" Leandra asked in an authoritative tone, resting both hands on her waist.
"Escaping my pride?" Hawke replied playfully, as if exiting via a window was a normal thing. "Please tell her I've been out since morning."
"Who's 'her'? And your clothes! And you're not wearing shoes!" Leandra cried after her daughter as she ran up the stairs.
"Least I have trousers!"
By the time she reached the window her daughter had already slipped through. Leandra watched Hawke land with a soft thud on the stone pavement and disappeared into the corner. Her features were marked with dismay, realizing that her child had employed magic to manage that kind of landing. It was sheer luck the street was empty. "Maker's breath, I swear that child..."
Several knocks interrupted Leandra's words, making her turn towards the door. She looked at the waterclock; it was a little past the tenth hour and knew the visitor was Merrill. "Sandal, could you get the door?" Leandra sighed her order. Her daughter must be really bothered if she deemed it necessary to escape Merill in such an outrageous manner.
Sandal scurried to the door and did as he was told. Leandra made her way to the estate's waiting area when she heard Sandal greeting her presumptive daughter-in-law with a dopey "Enchantment!" Her daughter, with much anxiety, had introduced Merrill to Leandra only several weeks ago and had been told that they have been together for nearing five months. It did not surprise her, really, given how much time they spent with each other, at least before Hawke became a frantic wreck. What surprised Leandra was that her philandering daughter actually introduced the elf as her close companion. That fact alone was enough to make Leandra accept her daughter's choice, even with the earlier fiasco between the couple and Carver.
"Lady Amell! Uhm, good morning!" Merrill nervously greeted Leandra as the latter walked into the waiting room. She thought the elf should have eased around her by now but that certainly was not the case. Was this how an in-law should feel? "I was just going to borrow a watering pot for your garden. I'd have brought my own but Hawke told me it looks odd, carrying it here all the way from Lowtown." She blushed. " Oh, and I mean the estate's garden not your..."
"I told you just Leandra is fine, my girl." she smiled as she gave the girl a discreet go-over. Merrill was by far the most attractive elf she had met, nevermind the fact she did not meet many. Other elves pretty much looked rather plain to her, except for that other strange friend of her daughter's, Fenris. Who could not stand out with white hair and tattoos? Maybe it was the irrevocable air of sweetness around Merrill, or the perfectly symmetrical face, or perhaps the radiating innocence waiting to be vio-...alright. She could see then why her daughter was smitten. "Have a seat, I'll fetch the watering pot for you. Sandal, could you continue with the fireplace?"
Merrill meekly nodded. The Hawke matriarch and Sandal disappeared from the room, leaving Merrill to fidget alone in the waiting room's seats. Leandra soon returned, with a dark apron draped over her noble's gown and a brass watering pot, heavy with water. The elf snapped up from the bench like a cadet addressing her commander. "Ma serannas, uhm...Leandra," Merrill managed to get the other's name out of her mouth with much difficulty.
The older woman took notice of this and offered Merrill a smile as she handed over the gardening implement. "Careful dear, it's heavy," She opened the door for the elf and pulled out a pruning shear from her apron. "Mind if I join you? Some of the vines need trimming."
"O-of course, I thought so as well." Merrill stammered, tucking a loose braid behind her ear. She stepped out of the estate and regarded the vines climbing upon its walls. "I'd have done it myself but I'm not so tall and I can't really use my magic out here."
Leandra's eyes grew wide and almost threw a hand over Merrill's mouth. Instead, she cast her eyes around to see if anyone was within earshot. Thankfully, that loitering bald dwarf or anyone else wasn't around the mansion. Leandra sighed in relief and threw a stern look at the elf. Merrill seemed to realize her folly and became flustered. "Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to..."
"Please, just keep quiet and water the plants," Leandra sighed again. She did not want to be testy but years of hiding two apostate daughters had made her sensitive to careless mentions or displays of magic. The forlorn look on Merrill made Leandra relent. She took the young girl's free hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'm sorry, but we can't be too careful." Merrill nodded and mumbled another apology. Leandra tried to reassure her with a smile. "Let's get right to it, shall we?"
The elf and noblewoman minded their own tasks in silence with Leandra feeling the prickly aura from her companion. She knew how jumpy Merrill was around her and broaching the subject of her daughter would make it all the more awkward. Leandra hoped she could still remember the noble's way of subtlety.
Thankfully, Merrill opened the subject. "Hawke's not in again today, is she?" the elf asked, keeping her back to Leandra as she watered the blooming embrium patch.
"Indeed. She went out earlier." A half-truth, but truth nevertheless. Leandra snipped off an unsightly vine protruding from the wall. "The dear girl's been so busy lately. She hasn't been neglecting you, has she?"
"Oh, no no, she's not!" Merrill exclaimed anxiously as her aim with the brass pot skid, watering the pavement instead. The young woman did not seem to notice this. "We see each other plenty in the Hanged Man and on her errands."
Leandra looked at the misdirected gardening and quietly sighed. As expected, Merrill knew something was amiss. "I don't doubt that," Leandra absently replied, slipping the shears into the front pocket of her apron as she went over to Merrill. She took the then empty watering pot away from the girl. "Care for some tea?" Leandra opened the door of the estate, gesturing for Merrill to follow her. She did.
They walked into the main hall and Leandra was surprised to see Bodahn inside. She must have been very absorbed with her company that she did not notice him come in. Leandra took off her heavy apron and together with the brass pot, handed it to Bodahn. "Thank you, Bodahn," she acknowledged. "Would you be so kind to prepare tea?"
Bodahn smiled proudly. "Already in the study, Mistress Amell. Piping hot lemon ginger blend, served with dark truffles. One of Serah Hawke's," he coughed, "friends, brought it yesterday."
Leandra smirked. Suitor, he meant. Given her daughter's looks it was no wonder that there were people who did not give up. She looked at Merrill, who did not seem to catch on. For once she was thankful for the elf's obliviousness. Leandra continued to lead Merrill, followed by Bodahn, into the study. Sure enough, an elegant set of porcelain and a box of dark sweets sat on the small table by the fireplace. Soon they were seated and Bodahn poured tea for the two women. The dwarf excused himself and left the pair.
As soon as Bodahn exited the study, Leandra regarded Merrill with a warm smile. "A lump or two?"
"Just one," Merrill loosened the scarf around her neck, shifting it back and forth around her neck in a fit of anxiety. "Is this a formal tea party? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with my manners yet. It was mentioned in a book I've read but I'm..." the elf chuckled nervously,"...I'm afraid it wasn't too accurate. Or credible. It's Isabela's you see."
"No, my girl," Leandra dropped a cube of sugar into Merrill's cup, then dropped another to her own, all the while wondering why the young elf had to mention to whom the book belonged. "If it was there would be more people, so please be at ease." The older woman then smirked, quite like her daughter did, as she stirred her tea. "Would you like to hear something interesting?"
Merrill, meanwhile, stirred her own tea with much noise as possible. "Of course. Is it about Hawke's childhood letters again? That last story you told me was amazing."
"Yes, but none of the previous sort." Leandra chuckled and set aside the silverware upon the saucer of her teacup. "You're the first person my daughter ever introduced to me." She enjoyed the blush that rushed to Merrill's face as she made her first sip.
"Really?" the elf asked, gaping. "But she's..." Merrill groped for the right word.
"Promiscuous," Leandra supplied as she rubbed her temples. "She takes after her father, Maker bless his soul. He always told me that he only calmed down after we met." Leandra smiled while picking up a truffle. "But she's never been properly in love. Until now, that is."
Merrill raised her cup towards her mouth with a shaky hand, almost spilling tea as she did. "T-that can't be true. I mean, she's had so many lovers, she must have loved at least one."
"Oh, you give my darling child too much credit." Leandra chuckled. "Back in Ferelden she feared running into her old flames more than templars. Once she called this young initiate by a different name and got slapped on both cheeks." The older woman set her cup down upon the saucer then rested her hands on her lap. "Trust me Merrill, you're my daughter's first love. You're both each other's firsts at something so..." Leandra drawled the last word suggestively as she held her cup close to her face, allowing her to hide the probing gaze directed at Merrill. The slight nod and red tint on the elf's cheek indicated success, hence Leandra continued. "So I hope you won't tire of easing her through this as you have been."
Merrill blushed even brighter as she shook her head, but that did not dim the determination on her features. "I won't."
"I trust you with that." Leandra gave Merrill a smile and a thorough gaze. The semi-rags she always wore certainly were unflattering. How many ratty green tunics does she own anyway? And she hoped that the mustard color of the scarf was its real color. An idea popped into the older woman's head. "Say, do you have any plans after this?"
Merrill thought for a moment, staring at her bare feet. "I was going to..." the elf paused, "I mean, no, none in particular, no." The girl began fidgeting again, shifting the scarf on her neck. "Why?"
Leandra smiled sweetly, intending to seal the deal. "I'd like you to meet my tailor, she may have something both you and Hawke will like."
