Evie delicately daubed at the tears in her eyes with the handkerchief the Grand Cleric had given her.
"I used to have this... certainty," she said. "That if I prayed enough, if I did everything right, the Maker would make it better. What is the point of any of it?"
The Grand Cleric leaned forward slightly, her hands folded on the desk, her voice soft and sympathetic in the face of Evie's histrionics.
"Faith, my child, is not the absence of doubt. It's holding on despite it. None of us are perfect, but the Maker doesn't ask for perfection; he asks for our hearts, our faith. You are not wrong to question, to be lost, because that is when we can truly find our way back."
There was a loud crashing and shattering sound from the nave beyond the Grand Cleric's office door. Hirik had certainly taken his time. The Grand Cleric looked to her door, torn between counselling Evie and wanting to get to the bottom of whatever was going on outside.
"Excuse me a moment, child," she said, rising to her feet and leaving Evie alone in her office.
As soon as that door was closed, Evie shot out of her chair and rushed around to the other side of the desk, carefully going through the drawers.
She let out a pleased hum when she found the keys to the vestry. Climbing up onto one of the shelves, she opened the shutter to find Kieran standing outside. She tossed him the keys, and he grinned, catching them and taking off. He would take the keys to Tai, who was hiding out near the vestry. Picking locks wasn't Tai's strong suit; he was too slow. It was quicker and less risky to just get the keys. Evie waited by the shutter for Kieran to come back. Hirik would keep the Grand Cleric distracted until Evie came out to let him know it was all done.
It took Kieran a couple of minutes to tap the wooden shutter lightly, just in case the Grand Cleric had returned anyway. Evie quickly opened it and took the keys back, replacing them in the drawer.
With that, she left the office, discovering the mess Hirik had made. Maker's breath! He'd broken the altar!
Evie joined the Grand Cleric, looking just as shocked as the rest of them.
"It seems you have your hands full, your Grace," Evie said. "I should go. Thank you for your counsel; it did help."
The Grand Cleric offered her a smile, her hand resting on her shoulder. "Maker watch over you, child."
Evie made her way towards the doors, casting a quick glance towards Hirik as she passed. Last time they had done this, Tai had been the distraction while Hirik pilfered the robes. For obvious reasons they couldn't do that again.
Outside the Chantry, Tai and Kieran were there waiting. Tai had a sack over his shoulder; the robes must have been bundled up inside.
"How is Hirik doing?" Tai asked.
"He broke the altar," she said.
"Sweet Maker, the altar!?" Tai said.
Both he and Kieran looked shocked at that. Evie nodded, still a little shocked as well. They'd thought he might go for one of the pews, or braziers, or even a statue. But the altar...
It was quite some time before Hirik finally exited the Chantry, throwing a triumphant grin their way.
"Flawless," he said.
"The altar?" Kieran asked.
"It looked like one of the more easy-to-replace items," he defended. "It was just wood."
"Let's just get back to the castle," Tai said.
-
"Don't chancellor robes usually have gold piping down the front?" Evie asked.
The four of them were in Tai's room; the robes lay flat on the bed as they examined them.
"No, this is the right one. Look how short it is and broad in the shoulders. It's cut for a man."
"What do you suppose they want this for?" Hirik asked.
They all jumped as the door opened to reveal Alistair. He smiled at first, before he saw what was on the bed. He quickly shut the door, stalking towards them.
"Tell me that is not a Chancellor's robe!" He hissed.
"Hah!" Tai cried out, drawing everyone's attention. "I did get the right one!"
They all turned wide eyes to Alistair, and Tai quickly backtracked.
"Made the right one," he amended. "Sewed it ourselves. Mostly Evie."
Given she was the only one of them who knew how to sew, that was the only way to at least make it sound a little believable.
"What are the four of you up to?" He asked, his tone suspect. "You've been so good the last few days. Don't ruin your streak. I suppose it's already been ruined. Did you steal this from the Chantry?"
Evie said nothing. She couldn't lie to him.
"Of course not; that would be...blasphemous," Tai said. Obviously he had no such compunction.
"Yes, it would be. I'm surprised the Maker hasn't smited the lot of you," he practically whispered. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "The stunt with the cows – at least that was funny. This is... sacrilegious and criminal. And not the funny kind of crime. How much chaos is this going to cause?"
"Probably none," Evie tried to assure him.
"They have plenty of spares; they're not going to notice one missing," Tai agreed.
"They didn't miss the Grand Cleric's robes, and they have less of those," Hirik added.
"You stole the Grand Cleric's robes!?" It came out a strangled gasp.
Hirik earned a few glares from the other three. Why would he bring that up?
"Where are they? What did you do with them?"
"Sold them," Evie muttered.
"To who!?"
Alistair couldn't believe what he was hearing. What possessed these children at times!?
"One of the girls at The Pearl," Tai replied.
Alistair scraped his hands down his face, suddenly feeling exhausted.
"You stole the Grand Cleric's robes and sold them to a whore?"
"Anything sounds bad when you say it with that tone," Hirik said.
Alistair could only blink in astonishment. Do they not hear themselves?
"How do you even know any of the girls there? How do you even know about The Pearl?"
The four of them exchanged looks, and he had to wonder if he really wanted to know. Tai turned suspicious eyes on him then, looking so much like Zevran it was almost comical.
"How do you know about The Pearl?"
Alistair once again pinched the bridge of his nose. He was trying not to lose his temper; truly he was.
"All right, here's the plan," he said. "Get rid of those—"
"It'll be done tomorrow," Tai and Evie said in unison.
"Good. And I know nothing of this. Also, you are not to go near The Pearl again until you're older. Do I need to talk to you all about venereal disease?"
They all shook their heads. Kieran had had that talk and shared it with the rest of them last year.
"We're not customers," Kieran said.
"Good. Get rid of the robes. I want you all to promise you will never steal from the Chantry, and we will never speak of this again."
All four of them nodded.
"That robe better be gone tomorrow. Now, the reason I came looking for you. Tai, Evie, your mothers are here. They're in my study."
Tai and Evie ran from the room to his office, where it quickly became a race. When they got to the door, they both stopped, Evie smoothing down her dress and hair in an attempt to look presentable.
It had been over a year since she had last seen her mother. Tai pushed the door open, and they entered, finding Shae, Mareven, and Zevran there. Her mother smiled slightly when she saw Evie, opening her arms. They embraced briefly. It wasn't the crushing hug Shae gave Tai.
Though Evie loved her mother, she didn't know her. She had spent more time travelling and looking for this cure than she had with Evie. And before that, when Evie was young, Mareven had been the Warden Commander in Ferelden. And when Mareven was here, they spent much of the time training.
"Come, ma'hallain," Mareven said. "Walk with me."
When Mareven did come to visit, she always took Evie for a walk so Evie could fill her in on everything she was missing. While Evie told her everything, Mareven never returned the sentiment. She trained Evie like an adult but spoke to her like a child.
When Mareven did speak to her, it was rarely about herself; it was always lessons – about hunting, about archery, about tracking, and the elven language. But never anything about her family, her childhood. Only that her parents were dead. Evie had no extended family on that side. Well, on either side.
Evie shook off the thoughts. Just focus on enjoying the time she had with her mother. She was never here long.
As they moved through the castle, some of the guards and staff saw Mareven, gawking at her as she passed by. Whispers of one of the Heroes of the Blight made it to her ears. Everyone knew that Mareven was Alistair's true love. There were even songs written by bards about them, a love that transcended even soul bonds.
The reality of it was her father's soulmate had died before he'd ever even met her. And her mother's soulmate was out there somewhere. They'd also never met. Evie wondered if they ever would. And what would become of her father should that come to pass?