The next day, Varania visited. Marian wasn't sure if she had been at the dinner last night; she didn't remember her being there, but Varania was a rather quiet woman, easy to miss in a crowd. She had probably been there, judging by the conversation she and Leto were having.
"You can't trust Hadrianna! She's half out of her mind. As your sister I have a right to talk you out of -"
Leto's eyes narrowed when he spotted Marian lingering outside the room. She quickly moved on.
Marian was headed towards the kitchens. It had been almost two days now since she had eaten, as part of her punishment for trying to read. She was counting on persuading the cook out of some leftover bits from lunch, if said cook was in a good mood.
Unfortunately, Marian stepped into a kitchen in turmoil. The few paid servants who worked in the mansion worked here in the kitchen. All of them, currently, were either standing on chairs or scrambling to get to one. Only the head cook was standing calmly on the floor. Calmly, but angrily.
Marian caught sight of what had spooked the kitchen staff. Giant rats: how gross. They were a ridiculously hard to exterminate pest, able to resist several different types of poisons, and they built their nests too far underground for hounds or cats to dig up. Speaking of hounds, Marian wondered if the cook's own mabari was nearby to help.
"Aveline!" Marian called across the tumultuous kitchen. Aveline gave her a slight nod of recognition as she crushed a rat's head underneath the heel of her boot. Marian flinched. Ew. Ew.
"You're a bit in the way, Marian," Aveline said as she mercilessly swept rats around with a broom, trying to corral them all into a storage room where Marian could see the cook's faithful mabari working as co-exterminator. Marian backed up into the doorway to stay out of Aveline's rampaging path.
"Need any help?" Marian offered.
"No." Aveline answered.
"You sure?"
"What do you really want, Marian?" Aveline stopped rat-sweeping for a moment to look at her. "On second thought, come back later and tell me then."
Marian's stomach answered for her. "Alright, I don't really feel like eating food from a rat-infested kitchen anyways."
Aveline glared at her. "If you want food, don't sass the cook." She warned. "Come back later, this will be cleaned up soon. Oh, and Marian;" Marian peeked her head back in the door. "Don't mention this to the Magister. I mean it."
Marian didn't mention it to the magister. Instead, she tidied up one the rooms near to the one in which Leto and Varania were conversing. Marian always had to be close to her master in case a situation should arise where he needed his bodyguard. Marian couldn't imagine why she was his bodyguard; Magister Leto was a mage, and although he specialized in his Arcane Warrior arts, he was still more than deadly with normal spells. He didn't need protecting; Marian was more like a meat shield. Out of all the slaves Danarius had gifted Leto when he ended his apprenticeship, Marian was neither the most durable nor the most skilled in combat. If a wall of expendable flesh between himself and an enemy was what the magister wanted, Marian certainly fit the quota of "replaceable."
Marian came from Ferelden. There had been an outbreak of plague, so she had been told, that wiped out many of the smaller farming communities to the west. Her parents perished from the plague, along with most of her village, and the kind slavers saved her and brought her to Tevinter. She was six years old at the time, and was bought by Magister Danarius at an auction when she arrived. Magister Danarius had two apprentices; Leto and Hadrianna. They were both young, twelve at the time, and as Marian struggled through life as a slave she watched them master their magic, their cruelty, and their selfishness. At eighteen, Leto and Hadrianna were given Magister status. All Marian had been given for the last six years was bruises, back-breaking work, and tiny portions of rotting food. And then she was given to Leto.
Newly-titled Magister Leto lined all of his slaves up one day, the ones gifted to him and the ones he purchased himself, and ordered them to do several physical tests: jumping jacks, pushups, hops, skips, spins, etc. And, for some reason, he chose Marian to begin training with daggers and bows. She was twelve, maybe thirteen, and was suddenly and quite unexpectedly expected to defend her new master with her life using knives that she was more likely to accidentally drop than actually hit someone with. She was required to follow him and carry his things, and lived her first year with him in complete terror that she would actually end up dying.
She didn't. No attempts were made on the magister's life, and now, nine years later, she was still doing her job. Her prowess with bows had greatly increased, but she had never had to use them yet. Leto preferred dispatching any enemies he made by himself in duels. Marian knew how he killed. It was horrific.
Marian returned to the kitchens later as she had said she would. Aveline had apparently fixed the rat problem, and all of the kitchen staff was back in working order. The staff was precise and swift, and Aveline was always running them at their best. Magister Leto's kitchen was probably the most proficient in Tevinter.
"You should have been a solider." Marian joked as she watched Aveline inspect her workers.
"I was." Was the head cook's short reply.
"Oh – why cook now?" Marian inquired as she not-so-stealthily picked up a nearby slice of bread topped with cheese.
"My husband died, and I wound up here."
Marian guessed there was much more to it than that, but she didn't prod. She had what she came for.
"Thanks!" She paired with a parting smile.
Varania continued her visit to the estate for several more days. She kept the magister busy, so Marian had little to do. Marian had always liked (although she had never spoken to her) Varania. She liked the colour of her hair – how it was redder than Leto's dark brown – and her soft way of speaking. She wasn't rude to the slaves who were waiting on her, and she always looked very regal when she sat in a chair with her ankles crossed and her chin tilted slightly upwards, but she never gave off an aura of violent superiority like Leto did. Marian saw little of her, however, as she stayed mostly confined to either her room or walked the grounds.
"Pardon me, mistress." Marian swept herself out of the way of the lady magister on her way to the kitchens.
Varania stopped her with an "Oh –"
Marian rose her head, surprised. "Please, let me be of service." She stuttered slightly on the 'please'.
"You are my brother – Leto's – bodyguard, yes?" Varania asked.
"Yes, mistress." Answered Marian.
"Marian?"
Marian caught herself gaping. She didn't manage to reply – was this… friendliness? Marian would have been certain she was being mocked, but Varania's face displayed only a true, sweet smile. Calling a slave by their name in pleasant terms was unheard of.
"O-oh, excuse me, I mean, that is you, correct?" Varania was only contributing to the awkwardness of the conversation and continuing to shock Marian.
"Yes – I, yes, mistress, that is my name." Marian managed to spit out. Varania nodded quickly and excused herself.
"And they she said 'excuse me'!" Marian was relaying her encounter with the lady magister to Aveline.
Aveline was just as awed as she had been.
"But that's not why I came to talk to you." Marian slipped her hand into her pocket. "I have–"
"MARIAN." A voice roared. Marian leapt to her feet. Without wishing Aveline goodbye she nearly flung herself out of the room.
Magister Leto greeted Marian with a slap to the face. He was walking too quickly to issue any more physical punishment at the moment. Marian kept stride with him after a moment of recovery. The magister heading towards the front doors.
"You were lazing about with the cook," Stated the magister as Marian opened the one of the double doors and held it for him. "No more – you're not allowed near the kitchens any longer. I'll have to punish the head cook as well. Disgraceful." Leto was speaking mostly to himself. Marian knew the punishment as soon as Leto had shouted her name. Never be too far to not be of assistance. It was a stupidly simple rule that Marian had blundered.
Now, she wouldn't be able to show Aveline the letter. She may as well give up on it being read.
Leto never told Marian where they were going, but once she saw eerie, purple towers manifest in the distance she knew that they were en route to Hadrianna's hellhole.
Marian stood attentively by the wall of Hadrianna's massive foyer. All magister's homes were enormous, but Hadrianna's was practically a castle. She had been Danarius's star pupil, and he rewarded her well for it. Leto was viciously jealous, and it showed. He had the entire conversation with Hadrianna in the foyer and deflected all of her attempts to get him inside to a more comfortable room.
"I do not need long. A week, maybe two, to prepare. I will send word when I am ready"
Hadrianna had a glint in her eyes that could only be described as evil. She grinned at Leto like a wolf grins at her next meal. However, Hadrianna always looked like she was about to murder someone. It was hard to tell if this was her regular expression or a terrible foreshadowing of what her experiment would entail. At any rate, Leto did not look perturbed in the slightest.
"As quickly as possible." Leto urged her as they left. Hadrianna promised, with several sweeping hand gestures and many long, useless words, as he slammed the door behind them.
Leto strode inside when they arrived back at the estate muttering about a 'headache' and going 'immediately to bed'. Marian didn't make it through the front entrance. Instead, she took a sharp turn at the door and began walking alongside the perimeter of the mansion. She had been thinking about it on the carriage ride home – about speaking to Aveline one last time. Show her the letter. The kitchen had an entrance into the garden, and it was the one that the staff used to enter and leave the estate. If she were lucky, Marian would catch Aveline outside. It would likely be her last chance to speak with her. Once Leto told Aveline that Marian had been banned from interacting with her or any other member of the kitchen staff, she would be impossible to contact. Aveline actually followed orders.
It was Marian's lucky day. Aveline was standing outside, just about it head back in, when Marian quietly called out her name.
It caught her attention. Marian motioned for her friend to meet her in a shadowed corner of the outer wall.
"Marian?" Aveline stood in the shadows now with her. "Why are you over here? Let's speak inside."
"No." Marian quickly stopped Aveline from turning and walking away. She spoke in hurried whispers. "I need you to look at this. Please. Don't let anyone else see it."
Marian handed Aveline the letter she had been protecting. Aveline's face filled with confusion.
"Where did you get this?" She demanded.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Marian promised. "Just please, please, tell me what it says!"
Dusk had fallen quickly on the garden. The shadows the two stood in had extended their fingers across the grass and were threatening to swallow everything.
"I need some light." Aveline explained, backing away towards the door.
"No, not inside!" Marian begged.
"I'll be right back," Aveline promised.
Marian waited. The last bits of light were leaving the sky. Everything was a solid, fluid black now. It got so dark in Tevinter.
Marian felt she had waited an eternity leaning against the wall. Every sound started her – owls, crickets, critters in the bushes. She nearly screamed when a hand brushed against her shoulder.
It was only Aveline. Marian could see her face only dimly in the night air. It was painted with astonishment that shone even through the darkness.
"Has anyone else read this?" Aveline demanded.
"The seal was still intact, wasn't it? You're the only person I've shown it to."
"Aveline swallowed and shook her head. "I don't know if I can help you. I – this is for the Magister to read. Only he can do something with it."
"But it was addressed to me!" Marian was dying to know what it said. "Tell me what was in it!"
Aveline took a deep breath. "Marian you – your sister wrote this letter –"
"Sister?" Marian interjected.
"Hush!" Aveline snapped. "Your sister has written that you are to be… freed. She has written the address of her home…" Aveline trailed off. Marian was ready to scream with impatience.
"What the hell are you stopped for? Keep going, for Andraste's sake!"
"Not her home," Aveline barely whispered."
"What?"
"Not her home." She repeated. "Her estate. You sister is a magister."
"No." Marian hissed. "That's not what it said. You're lying."
"You have freedom!"Aveline handed the letter back to Marian. "Don't throw it away."
"I'd just be moving from one magister to another. That's not freedom."
"Your sister might be different! She's not buying you as a slave. She's freeing you so that you can be her sister."
"Why would she want to be my sister? We've never met." Marian crushed the letter back into her pocket. What an utter disaster.
"Marian, calm down." Aveline ordered. "You're angry: completely, irrationally angry. Do you really want to stay here? As Magister Leto's slave?"
Aveline's logical was irrefutable, but it didn't stop Marian from seething.
"Why a magister sister? Why a magister?"
"She didn't choose to be born with magic as much as you didn't choose to be born without it."
"I would choose to be born without it." Marian hissed.
"You're not listening. Give the magister the letter. He has to free you. She cited some 'blood-ties' law. It's true – you shouldn't be a slave if you have living magister relatives."
"If I hand this to Leto he'll just throw it into the fire."
Aveline considered that. After a pause she said, much to Marian's utter surprise, "What about Varania?"
"You're kidding."
Aveline shook her head. No, she was not kidding.
Marian didn't know what to say. Then, finally:
"Just… tell me everything that was in the letter. I won't decide anything until I know everything."
And so Aveline told her. Marian had a younger sister, the magister, named Bethany. She also had a younger brother, non-magical, as she is, named Carver. Bethany learned of Marian's existence and searched for her lost sister with the goal to bring her back into the family. She was prepared to pay any sum of money for Marian's release, and, as Aveline had previous said, brought up an old, ignored blood-tie law that stated that any close relative of a Magister's who had not been sold by that Magister but was currently enslaved was, legally, supposed to be free, if relation to a Magister could be proved. Bethany also included the address of her estate and extended a warm invitation for Marian to "come home" as soon as her Master released her, which she was certain he would do.
"She's awfully optimistic." Marian grumbled.
After much debate, whining, and angry whispering, Marian accepted that it was her only choice. If she wanted her freedom, it would be through the Leto's sister. It would take more than just luck to get Varania to agree to plead Marian's case to Leto. It was probably impossible. And it had a deadline. She was leaving in a week.
Marian said goodbye and goodnight to Aveline for the last time.
A/N: This feels rushed to me, but I had to get something out. Remember how I said long waits? I'm really bad at beginnings. The first few chapters will be drawn out and written quickly whenever I get a spark of inspiration. I have a lot more ideas for future chapters. I can't promise they'll come faster, but I'll try?
Why Aveline as a cook? I assumed that, after Wesley died, and without Hawke there to be a new emotional focus, Aveline would completely lose her motivation. She could end up anywhere, so why not Tevinter? And Hawke needed a friend to keep her spirit alive. A hollow, robot-slave Hawke wouldn't be a very fun character. Sorry if this isn't the best chapter! The next one will really spur off the plot.
